Affordable Housing

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many new affordable houses are planned to be built in each of the next five years.

Yvette Cooper: We are planning to provide 30,000 social rented homes in 2007-08 and expect to help 160,000 households to access home ownership through private or public shared equity schemes by 2010.
	The number of homes to be provided each year from 2008-09 will be the subject to the outcome of the Comprehensive Spending Review 2007.

Energy Performance Certificates

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 19 December 2006,  Official Report, column 1814W, on Energy Performance Certificates, what the basis is for expecting the price of certificates to vary according to the location of a property.

Yvette Cooper: The cost of an energy performance certificate is expected to vary according to the location of a property as this may influence things like local energy assessor labour rates and some areas may experience greater competition than others. The eventual price of an energy performance certificate will be set by the market and not by Government.

Energy Performance Certificates

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 19 December 2006,  Official Report, column 1814W, on Energy Performance Certificates, what estimate her Department has made of the  (a) average cost,  (b) minimum cost and  (c) maximum cost of a certificate.

Yvette Cooper: The statutory instrument to set out requirements for energy performance certificates is scheduled to be laid before Parliament in due course and the regulatory impact assessment to support this is in preparation. Contributing to this will be the outcome of trials undertaken to assess the indicative costs of producing certificates for a range of building types, sizes and locations. The eventual price of an energy performance certificate will be set by the market and not by Government.

Government Auctions

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government where her Department publishes information about Government auctions which it arranges or to which it contributes in  (a) Blackpool,  (b) Lancashire and  (c) the North West; and when the next such auction will take place in each area.

Angela Smith: The Department does not arrange auctions in Blackpool, Lancashire or the north-west. Information about auctions that it may have contributed to could be found only at disproportionate cost.
	The policy of the Department is to use the MOD Disposals Sales Agency to facilitate the sale and/or auctioning of any substantial amounts of surplus equipment.

Housing: Lancashire

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what temporary housing provision was made available to the homeless in Chorley constituency in each of the last 10 years.

Yvette Cooper: Information about local authorities' actions under homelessness legislation is collected quarterly at local authority level. The constituency of Chorley covers the whole of Chorley borough council.
	Information reported each quarter by local authorities about their activities under homelessness legislation includes the number of households in temporary accommodation on the last day of the quarter, and the types of temporary accommodation. The figures include both those households who have been accepted as owed the main homelessness duty, and those for which inquiries are pending.
	Data is published in our quarterly statistical release on statutory homelessness, which includes a supplementary table showing the breakdown of key data, including temporary accommodation and type, by each local authority. These are published on our website each quarter (the latest- July to September 2006- can be found at the following address:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/pub/60/Supplementarytables_id1505060.xls, and the tables have also been placed in the Library of the House.
	Data provided includes the total number in temporary accommodation for each year, broken down between bed and breakfast, hostel, local authority/registered social landlord stock, private sector leased and other types of housing.
	A summary table showing the total number of households in temporary accommodation, from 1997-98 to 2005-06, for each local authority (including Chorley) was placed in the Library in October 2006, in response to PQ 8631 (Chris Ruane)- Table B.
	In January 2005 the Government set a target of halving the number of households in all forms of temporary accommodation used by local authorities to discharge their main duty under the homelessness legislation.

Local Government

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what Tamworth Borough Council's net budget is.

Phil Woolas: The budget requirement for Tamworth borough council in 2006-07 is £9.1 million.
	Budget requirement is that part of the estimated net revenue expenditure, calculated in advance of each year by each local authority, to be met from formula grant and from council tax income.

Mental Health

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what measures she is taking to promote actively the employment within  (a) her Department and  (b) public sector bodies for whom she has responsibility of people with mental illnesses in line with the advice and codes of practice produced by the Disability Rights Commission.

Angela Smith: Under the Disability Equality Duty introduced by the Disability Discrimination Act 2005, the Department for Communities and Local Government and the public sector bodies for which I am are responsible are required to publish and implement disability equality schemes. These are plans setting out how we will carry out the disability equality duty, monitor, and report on progress. In particular this includes our arrangements for gathering information on the effect of our policies and practices on the recruitment, development and retention of our disabled employees, including those with mental health conditions, and making use of that information.
	The arrangements are set out in my Department's disability equality scheme with the priority given to improving and providing correct infrastructure to enable disabled staff to work effectively. The scheme also provides guidance for the Departments managers on how to support the needs of disabled staff.
	The public sector bodies sponsored by my Department that are subject to these requirements are responsible for publishing and implementing their own disability equality schemes.

Social Housing

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average grant per unit for low cost  (a) home ownership and  (b) rented social housing was (i) nationally and (ii) in each region in each of the last three years.

Yvette Cooper: The following table shows the average grant per unit for both low cost home ownership and social rented homes for each region and nationally for the 2004-06 and 2006-08 Housing Corporation Affordable Housing Programmes at the time these programmes were allocated. The level of grant will be affected by the kinds of projects and units built and the extent of section 106 contributions, as well as the cost of construction.
	
		
			  Low cost home ownership 
			  £ 
			   2006-08  2004-06 
			 East Midlands 20,252 21,690 
			 East of England 14,864 23,230 
			 London 42,625 46,792 
			 North East 18,725 34,517 
			 North West 34,114 30,506 
			 South East 18,724 26,913 
			 South West 18,695 18,537 
			 West Midlands 20,278 31,605 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 26,643 28,619 
			 National 26,772 29,157 
		
	
	
		
			  Social rent 
			  £ 
			   2006-08  2004-06 
			 East Midlands 43,986 43,753 
			 East of England 39,571 48,215 
			 London 101,270 100,932 
			 North East 60,449 57,831 
			 North West 63,580 63,841 
			 South East 54,637 58,939 
			 South West 43,534 41,021 
			 West Midlands 49,705 56,248 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 52,901 53,093 
			 National 62,620 58,208 
			  Source:  Housing Corporation

Turner Village Hospital

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will make a statement on the sale of the former Turner Village Hospital in Colchester.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 11 January 2007
	The former Turner Village Hospital in Colchester is one of the sites included in the portfolio of 96 sites acquired by English Partnerships on 6 April 2005 from the Department of Health and forms part of the agency's Hospital Sites Programme.
	English Partnership's announced on 20 December 2006 their decision to select Galliford Try Partnerships as its preferred developer for this site. We anticipate completion of the sale by the end of February 2007 with construction on site expected to begin in the autumn.
	The scheme will comprise 430 homes of which 107 (25 per cent.) are designated as affordable either for sale under a shared equity scheme or for rent.
	All new homes on the site will meet or exceed English Partnerships' design and quality standards, including EcoHomes "Excellent", Secured by Design and Lifetime Homes. Additionally, as part of this redevelopment, Galliford Try Partnerships Limited will provide Essex county council with a site for a much needed 330 place primary school.

Valuation Office Agency

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 6 December 2006,  Official Report, column 474W, on the Valuation Office Agency, if she will give a current example of a code EF  (a) functional factor and  (b) economic factor associated with dwellings that have value significance.

Phil Woolas: Code EF is available to use as a Value Significant Code (VSC) within the Valuation Office Agency's (VOA's) dwellinghouse coding system. It allows members of VOA staff to flag-up that a property's value might be influenced by a functional/economic factor. An example of where a code EF has been applied is where a property or group of properties is close to an industrial area, which might affect value to an extent that it/they should be differentiated from other similar properties in the wider locality.

Departmental Offices

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what area of office space his Department and its agencies used in central London in  (a) 2004 and  (b) 2006; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Hain: The Wales Office occupies one building in London, Gwydyr House, which affords 675 sq m, one room on the ground floor is used by the National Assembly for Wales. From September 2004 to June 2006 we also occupied space in Dover House of 110 sq m and during that period the National Assembly used two ground floor rooms in Gwydyr House.

Open Source Software

David Gauke: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what percentage of his Department's computer systems use open source software; what percentage of the systems planned to be installed use such software; and whether he plans to increase the use of open source software in his Department.

Peter Hain: All computer systems in the Wales Office are supplied by the Department for Constitutional Affairs under their contracts. Figures for the Wales Office could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.

Middle East

John Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate he has made of the numbers of displaced Palestinians in  (a) Iraq and  (b) at temporary refugee camps at (i) Ruwayshid in Jordan, (ii) Al-Hol in Syria and (iii) Al-Tanf on the Iraq-Syria border; and what assistance is provided to them by (A) the UN High Commission for Refugees and (B) other international bodies.

Hilary Benn: UNHCR estimate there are 15,000 Palestinians remaining in Iraq, less than half the estimated figure in 2003. We believe the majority of these are based in Baghdad. Latest reports from UNHCR estimate that there are 119 refugees in Ruwayshid camp, Jordan, 420 in Al Tanf camp, Syria and 340 in El Hoi camp, Syria. UNHCR is extremely concerned by these disturbing developments and will take up the issue with the Iraqi authorities. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), with UNHCR support is preparing delivery of relief items including tents, blankets, mattresses, lanterns, kitchen sets, stoves and plastic sheets. Water, kerosene and food are already available.
	The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) is providing schooling, medical services, and basic social services to the 352 Palestinian refugees in AI-Tanf camp between Syria and Iraq. UNRWA is also providing some educational activities and contributing to a knitting workshop to the 319 refugees who are in the temporary camp of AI-Hol in the North-East of Syria. During 2006, the Department for International Development (DFID) provided more than £15 million in funding support to UNRWA's work among refugees in the Middle East and also signed a Memorandum of Understanding providing UNRWA with £76.6 million of funding over the next four years.
	In addition, DFID has just announced a £4 million contribution to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to continue to provide emergency assistance, including water, medical supplies and rehabilitation of health infrastructure. This brings our total humanitarian contribution for Iraq to over £120 million since 2003. We are also considering the UNHCR's appeal to help refugees in neighbouring countries. Above all the first priority of the Iraqi Government must be to end the violence that is causing this situation, with the support of the international community and the region.

Retirement Age

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 18 December 2006,  Official Report, column 1466W, on retirement age, what the evidential basis is for applying age-based work force planning.

Gareth Thomas: DFID does not apply age-based work force planning. Retirement dates are just one of the factors we consider in work force planning to allow managers and human resources division plan for loss of skills and succession.

Uganda

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assistance he has made available  (a) bilaterally and  (b) through the world food programme to those experiencing drought in Karamoja, Uganda.

Hilary Benn: DFID has recently pledged £6 million for the world food programme's (WFP) emergency activities in Uganda during 2007. This money will be used by WFP to purchase food locally for distribution to drought affected people in Karamoja and people in northern Uganda who are internally displaced as a result of the conflict involving the Lords Resistance Army.
	DFID has also recently committed £4.7 million towards a joint UN emergency health programme in both northern Uganda and in areas of Karamoja where high mortality rates have been reported. Just over £750,000 of this money has been allocated by the UN agencies for specific activities in the Karamoja region.

Biofuels

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to increase the opportunities for British farmers to produce biofuels.

Ian Pearson: The Government support the production of biofuels as part of our overall strategy for improving sustainability and reducing the impact of climate change. We are aware of the potential for agriculture and are working closely with farmers and industry to develop markets and promote uptake.
	The production and use of biofuels is incentivised by a 20 pence per litre duty rate cut for biodiesel and bioethanol, which has been extended to 2008-09. To further develop the supply of biofuels, a Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) will be introduced in April 2008, which will require five per cent. of fuel sold in the UK to come from a renewable source by 2010.
	A number of companies are building, or planning to build, biofuel processing plants in the UK which will use UK-grown crops such as oilseed rape, wheat and sugar beet as feedstocks. The Home-Grown Cereals Authority and the Renewable Energy Association have recently held a series of regional biofuel workshops across England aimed at helping to develop a UK biofuels industry. The workshops covered Government policy, local activities and opportunities for farmers.
	Farmers can claim the Single Payment for biofuel crops grown on set-aside land or where the €45 per hectare energy aid payment is claimed for crops on non set-aside land. The development of second generation biofuels should offer opportunities in the future to use feedstocks such as grasses and woody biomass.

Biofuels

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the areas of unproductive agricultural land which may be suitable for growing crops to make biofuels; and what financial support or subsidies are available to land owners interested in growing feedstock for biofuels.

Ian Pearson: Agricultural land taken out of production is termed set-aside. The European Union (EU) permits the growing of crops on set-aside for industrial uses and energy production. Between 560,000 and 800,000 hectares of land have been set-aside in the UK over the last 10 years. While this may in some cases represent some of the least productive land on farms, it is all capable of supporting arable production. In 2005, 14.5 per cent. of set-aside land was used for industrial crop production, the vast majority of which was for energy end uses. It is anticipated that this figure will grow significantly as the demand for transport biofuels increases.
	Farmers growing energy crops on set-aside are entitled to receive the single farm payment. In addition, where crops are grown for energy uses on non set-aside land, growers can claim the EU's €45 per hectare energy aid payment. From 2007, under the Rural Development Programme for England, the Government have given a commitment to support Energy Crops.
	The development of second generation biofuels should offer greater opportunities to utilise crops such as grasses and woody biomass grown on marginal land.

Carbon Offsetting

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will publish benchmarks to assist those interested in choosing the most environmentally beneficial carbon offsetting schemes.

Ian Pearson: Defra launched a consultation on a voluntary Code of Best Practice for the provision of carbon offsetting to customers on 18 January.
	The Government's standard for carbon offsetting would be based on the use of certified credits from the established Kyoto market, through sources such as the UN's Clean Development Mechanism. These credits are backed by an international framework and institutions to ensure that real emission reductions take place, as well as providing a clear audit trail.
	The code of practice proposes that offset providers supply consumers with clear information and transparent prices. Defra plans to support the standard by providing guidance to consumers on offsetting, which will also help consumers to make informed decisions about their actions.

Cloned Farm Animals

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans he has to ban the entry of cloned farm animals into the UK; what regulations he plans to put in place to control domestic production of cloned farm animals; and what consultation he proposes on this issue.

Barry Gardiner: The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 restricts cloning in the UK to licensed procedures and animals protected under this Act could not be used for farming purposes. Animal welfare legislation ensures the health and welfare of all livestock reared in England by both natural and artificial breeding methods.
	Products derived from cloned animals (or from animals descended from clones) are subject to the provisions of the European Commission (EC) Novel Foods Regulation. Before marketing such products, an expert assessment of their safety for the food chain must be carried out and approved at European level. To date, no such applications for assessment under this regulation have been made.
	At an EC working group on 12 January 2007, member states agreed that there should be a discussion at an EC Standing Committee to clarify which sections of the EC Novel Foods Regulation apply to cloned animals and their offspring. It was also agreed that the European Food Safety Authority should be consulted on the safety of products from cloned animals and their offspring. The Commission will be producing a paper on these points for discussion at a future EC Standing Committee.
	The Government are currently consulting on its response to the Farm Animal Welfare Council (FAWC) report on the 'Welfare Implications of Animal Breeding and Breeding Technologies in Commercial Agriculture'. The outcome of this consultation will inform our position on welfare aspects and contribute to the broader consideration of whether there is a need for further regulatory controls.

Buses: Concessionary Travel

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the Draft Regulatory Impact Assessment on the Concessionary Bus Travel Bill on the funding of concessionary bus travel schemes.

Gillian Merron: The draft Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) for the Concessionary Bus Travel Bill was published simultaneously with the Bill, which was introduced on 27 November 2006. It will be updated as appropriate. The RIA is available on the Department for Transport's website at:
	www.dft.gov.uk/localtransport/cbtbill
	The Government have indicated they will provide up to an extra £250 million of funding per year for the national bus travel concession. Following the introduction of the new concession, the Government will be providing approximately £1 billion a year for concessionary bus travel, and are confident that this will be sufficient to cover the total cost.
	The Department for Transport, in discussions with the Department for Communities and Local Government and Her Majesty's Treasury, is looking at a number of options for distributing the existing and future funding for providing the statutory concession.

Container Handling Capacity

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the impact of container handling capacity shortages at United Kingdom ports on economic growth; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: In May 2006, alongside our discussion document 'Ports Policy your views invited', the Department's consultants, MDS Transmodal in association with DTZ Pieda, published a container port transhipment study. This report contains an assessment of the wider economic effects of various capacity scenarios, looking ahead to 2030.
	Comments were received on this study in response to the discussion document and the ports policy review, currently in progress, is considering the matter further.

Railways

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects the zonal system for London overground railways to be introduced.

Tom Harris: Zonal fares for peak single, peak return and off-peak return rail journeys wholly within London were introduced in January 2007. The zones are the same as those used for Underground and Travelcard fares. Zonal fares for rail only season tickets will be introduced from January 2010.

Recycling

Norman Baker: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what amounts of  (a) glass,  (b) metal,  (c) plastic and  (d) paper was recycled by the parliamentary estate in each year since 2004.

Nick Harvey: The amounts of  (a) glass,  (b) metal,  (c) plastic and  (d) paper recycled by the parliamentary estate in each year since 2004 is given as follows. The only plastic products being recycled at present are drinks bottles and figures are only available from April 2006 onwards.
	
		
			  Recycled (tonnes) 
			  Waste category  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07( 1) 
			  (a) Glass 152.8 182.8 140.3 
			  (b) Metal 6.1 77.6 31.1 
			  (c) Plastic bottles — — 1.9 
			  (d) Paper 265.7 401.9 297.8 
			  (e) Other 136.6 159.1 185.2 
			 Total Recycled 561.2 821.4 656.3 
			 Total Waste 1,916.5 2,251.7 1,565.4 
			 Percentage of total waste recycled 29.3 36.5 41.9 
			 (1) Nine months.

Union Flag

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission pursuant to the answer of 10 January 2007,  Official Report, columns 504-05W, on the Union flag, what health and safety grounds prevent the use of the flagpole on Portcullis House; and what the cost would be of making access to the flagpole safe.

Nick Harvey: As I said in my reply to the right hon. Member for Warley (Mr. Spellar) on 24 January 2007,  Official Report, column 1763W:
	A recent health and safety report identified the following risks.
	Access to the flag pole is by ladder but there is no safe means of passing the flag up the ladder; the flag raiser needs to climb over a ventilation duct; lighting is poor and there is no emergency lighting. In addition there are heavy hatch doors with no means of preventing closure and no harness anchorage points.
	The flagpole has been used only once since Portcullis House was opened when it was found to be dangerous and it has been non operational since September 2000. Means of rectifying the health and safety risks are being looked into and when the costs are known a decision will be taken on whether to fly flags from this location. If it is decided to do so, the aim will be to complete the necessary modifications by summer 2007.

Water Usage

Norman Baker: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what volume of water was consumed by the parliamentary estate in each year since 2004.

Nick Harvey: The volume of water consumed by the parliamentary estate in each year since 2004 is as follows:
	
		
			  Cubic metres 
			   Mains water  Borehole water  Total 
			 2004-05 216,861 301,842 518,703 
			 2005-06 186,663 393,859 580,522 
			 2006-07(1) 139,477 258,149 397,626 
			 (1) Nine months. 
		
	
	Borehole water is used primarily for cooling and toilet flushing in Portcullis House.

Aircraft Carrier Demonstration Phase

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the progress of the future RN future aircraft carrier demonstration phase.

Adam Ingram: Good progress is being made on the demonstration phase work, which is aimed at maturing the risks, costs and the contractual framework for building the carriers. The culmination of this work will enable us to get a robust, affordable deal negotiated and take a decision to commit to manufacture.

Armed Forces Recruitment

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Muslims were recruited to the armed forces in each month since January 2006.

Derek Twigg: The Muslim intake from civilian life to UK Regular Forces in 2006, by month is as follows:
	
		
			   All services( 1) 
			 January 10 
			 February 5 
			 March (2)— 
			 April 5 
			 May (2)— 
			 June 5 
			 July 10 
			 August 5 
			 September (2)— 
			 October (2)— 
			 November (3)5 
			 (1) Due to the introduction of a new personnel administration system, RAF data on the religion of recruits are not available from 1 April 2006, and naval service data from 1 November 2006 are provisional and subject to review. (2) Denotes fewer than 5. (3) Denotes provisional.  Notes: 1. All numbers are rounded to the nearest 5. 2. Due to the rounding methods used, totals may not always equal the sum of the parts. 
		
	
	Figures provided are for the 11 months from 1 January 2006 to 30 November 2006. December 2006 intake from civilian life data are not yet available.

Boarding School Allowance

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what the minimum distance is which an officer has to move in order to be able to claim boarding school allowance; and what steps he takes to monitor potential abuse of the allowance;
	(2)  how many officers of each of the armed services have  (a) declared themselves mobile for the purpose of claiming Boarding school allowance and  (b) claimed boarding school allowance in each of the last five years.

Derek Twigg: All officers in the armed services are deemed to have a mobile commitment. However, continuity of education allowance (CEA) is only paid to a service person who is accompanied by their family at each location. Any service person claiming CEA must ensure that their family is, and continues to be, mobile and this is declared by the service person on each claim. In addition, the service person must be in possession of a valid 'mobility certificate', which is completed prior to an initial claim for the education allowance, when the child(ren) change school, at the beginning of each new posting, or if the certificate is more than three years old. This certificate states the service claimant is committed to their family moving with them when they are posted. If the family for any reason does not move with the service person, then their entitlement to claim CEA will be reviewed.
	There are a few exceptions to the accompanied service eligibility criteria. On some postings it is inappropriate for the service person to be accompanied by their family and these postings are classified as 'involuntarily separated', i.e. they are separated from their family and cannot serve accompanied. Examples of this are when the service parent is serving on an operational deployment, or on a designated unaccompanied assignment or when exceptional authority has been granted for the service claimant to serve unaccompanied but retain eligibility to CEA. Examples of the circumstances under which such authority may be given are whilst the service claimant is awaiting allocation of service families accommodation at their new duty station, or when they are waiting, for up to six months, for the completion of a house sale/purchase. In these circumstances, the service person would be eligible to continue to claim CEA.
	Given the ongoing transition to joint personnel administration, figures are not yet available of the number of officer claimants from each service for the past five years. However, the total number of officer claimants for spring term 2005 was 3,587 and for spring term 2006 3,074, as reported in the HCDC report 'Educating Service Children' of 11 July 2006. Detailed figures explaining the number of officer claimants from each service for the past five years are being determined.

Campaign Medals

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what process was followed in  (a) proposing and  (b) developing the idea to award journalists Iraq campaign medals; how many have been (i) accepted and (ii) declined; and whether any precedents exist.

Derek Twigg: Accredited war correspondents, photographers, cameramen and sound recordists were included in eligibility proposals for the Iraq medal made by the Ministry of Defence to the Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals in November 2003. These proposals were included in the criteria when the medal was announced in February 2004 (Cm 6135). Entitled journalists were invited to apply for the medal, it has not been sent to them automatically.
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 7 November 2006,  Official Report, column 1467W about the number of medals that have been accepted or declined by journalists.
	The practice of making medals available to accredited journalists deployed alongside the British armed forces goes back to at least World War One and, more recently, happened in both the Falklands conflict and the Gulf War.

Campaign Medals

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the  (a) newspapers,  (b) broadcasters and  (c) news agencies whose journalists were given an Iraq campaign medal by his Department.

Derek Twigg: No. The information requested constitutes personal data, within the terms of section 1(1) of the Data Protection Act 1998, as provision of a list of the relevant newspapers, broadcasters and news agencies is likely to permit identification of individual journalists who have been awarded the Iraq Campaign Medal.

Carbon Emissions

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when his Department began collecting figures on its carbon emissions; what the volume of emissions was in the most recent period for which figures are available; when the Department started to offset its emissions; how much is expected to be spent on offsetting in 2006-07; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: The Ministry of Defence has recorded energy usage since 1990-91. The most recent year for which figures detailing the volume of Departmental emissions are available is financial year 2004-05. I refer the hon. Member to the figures published on 10 October 2006,  Official Report, columns 652-53W. Figures for FY 2005-06 are not yet available, but will be published in the Sustainable Development in Government Report 2005-06, a copy of which will be placed in the Library of the House.
	The Department does not offset its emissions derived from energy use in buildings and facilities on the defence estate. However, MOD does support the Carbon Trust's approach to reductions in emissions where offsetting is the final element of a plan to reduce an organisation's carbon footprint. For MOD, reduction of energy use and increased use of energy from renewable sources will take precedence over carbon offsetting.
	MOD has been collecting data on official air travel booked through the Head Office Travel Service, and has agreed to make a financial contribution to Government Carbon Offsetting Fund (GCOF) relative to the carbon dioxide emissions resulting from the air travel for civilian staff and Service personnel in non-operational posts. The scheme started in April 2006. In 2005-06, MOD's estimated annual financial contribution to GCOF at £151,658.67 based on a price of 10/tC. It is estimated that MOD will offset some 15,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year. This will be revised using actual data from 2006-07 to establish the GCOF contribution required for this financial year.

Conventional Weapons: Conference

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what factors prevented the Government from achieving its priority for the 3rd Review Conference on the Convention of Certain Conventional Weapons of finalising a Protocol on Mines other than Anti-Personnel Mines.

Adam Ingram: The UK and other nations made concerted efforts to achieve consensus on a draft set of recommendations on Mines Other than Anti-Personnel Mines (MOTAPM) at the 3rd Review Conference on the Convention of Certain Conventional Weapons. However, a few nations could not accept them and therefore a protocol could not be adopted. As an interim measure, 20 nations including the UK, made a declaratory statement agreeing to be politically bound by the principle commitments within the draft set of recommendations with a view to adopting a negotiating mandate for a legally binding protocol in the future.

Defence Medical Services

Peter Viggers: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 5 December 2006,  Official Report, columns 357-58, on defence medical services, what the revived manning requirement figures are for different categories of doctors.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 23 January 2007
	The revised Defence Medical Services (DMS) manning requirement figures were submitted for endorsement last year as part of a larger body of work, and work on the details of other parts of this submission caused a delay in the endorsement of the new figures. The revised manning requirement figures for the DMS have now been endorsed and a formal announcement will be made in the near future.

Defence Training Review

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the oral statement of 17 January 2007,  Official Report, columns 787-9, on the Defence Training Review, what the principal factors were which persuaded him to select Matrix as the preferred bidder for his Defence Training Rationalisation Review.

Derek Twigg: Following a robust and detailed evaluation of the bidders' proposals in response to the Defence Training Review (DTR) package one and two Invitation to Negotiate, Metrix was selected as the preferred bidder for DTR Package 1 and provisional preferred bidder for DTR Package 2. Their solution, examined against 65 individual requirements of response, represented the most economically advantageous outcome, providing the best combination of technical score relating to the quality, deliverability and timeliness of their proposals, their suitability as a partner and price.

Departmental Expenditure

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of expenditure by his Department in each of the Government Office regions in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Derek Twigg: The latest available estimates for aggregate MOD expenditure in the Government offices for the English Regions, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the UK as a whole, are detailed in the following table:
	
		
			   Estimated total (£ million at current prices) 
			   
			 United Kingdom 15,770 
			   
			 England 14,050 
			   
			 East 1,450 
			 East Midlands 510 
			 London 720 
			 North East 310 
			 North West 1,790 
			 South East 4,060 
			 South West 4,000 
			 West Midlands 650 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 560 
			   
			 Scotland 1,150 
			 Wales 230 
			 Northern Ireland 340 
			  Note: All figures are for financial year 2004-05, have been rounded to the nearest £10 million, are exclusive of VAT and expressed at current prices. 
		
	
	It should be noted that MOD places work where it obtains best value for money and capability for our forces. Work is placed "in" a region but not necessarily "for" that region. The location of these is not a primary concern.

Departmental Hospitality

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his Department's expenditure was on hospitality and entertainment in  (a) 1996-97 and  (b) 2005-06.

Derek Twigg: For 1996-97, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 20 March 2003,  Official Report, column 885, to the hon. Members for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) and North Wiltshire (Mr. Gray).
	For 2005-06, the information is contained in Note 10 of our annual reports and accounts (HC 1394 of 14 July 2006), copies of which are available in the Library of the House.
	The figures include expenditure by MOD Ministers.

Departmental Vetting

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what additional guidance has been given to the personnel of the Defence Vetting Agency to reflect the change of threat resulting from the events of  (a) September 2001 and  (b) July 2005.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 23 January 2007
	Defence Vetting Agency personnel, along with all Ministry of Defence Civilian and Service personnel, are made aware of the terrorist and other threats through regular security briefings.

Government Auctions

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence where his Department publishes information about Government auctions which it arranges or to which it contributes in  (a) Blackpool,  (b) Lancashire and  (c) the North West; and when the next such auction will take place in each area.

Adam Ingram: The Ministry of Defence's Disposal Services Agency (DSA) has responsibility for the disposal of all surplus MOD equipment. The majority of surplus items are sold through DSA's contractors, with whom it has various marketing agreements. In the UK, only memorabilia is disposed of by public auction, through the London site of Bonhams' auction house. Details of DSA's marketing activities, including those for Bonhams and other contractors, can be found at its website:
	www.edisposals.com

Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much the Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency received from the US visiting forces as a stake holder customer in each year from 2000 to 2006.

Derek Twigg: The Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency received the following amounts from US visiting forces for the period 2000-06:
	
		
			  £ million 
			   MOD Police  MOD Guard Service  Total 
			 1999-2000 4.8 Nil 4.8 
			 2000-01 5.5 Nil 5.5 
			 2001-02 8.0 Nil 8.0 
			 2002-03 12.1 Nil 12.0 
			 2003-04 11.9 Nil 11.9 
			 2004-05 12.1 1.1 13.2 
			 2005-06 13.9 1.2 15.1

Non-departmental Public Bodies

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which non-departmental public bodies are sponsored by his Department; what the function is of each body; and what the annual budget of each body was in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Derek Twigg: Details of the remit, Government funding and gross expenditure of public bodies sponsored by the Ministry of Defence can be found in the Cabinet Office publication Public Bodies 2006, copies of which are available in the Library of the House and also on-line at:
	http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/other/agencies/publications/pdf7public-bodies/publicbodies2006.pdf
	For those bodies in respect of which no information on expenditure was provided in Public Bodies 2006, their approximate expenditure in 2005-06 was as follows:
	
		
			   Amount (£) 
			 Advisory Committee on Conscientious Objectors 0 
			 Animal Welfare Advisory Committee 8,000 
			 Central Advisory Committee on War Pensions and War Pensions Committees 37,300. 
			 Dartmoor Steering Group 60 
			 Defence Nuclear Safety Committee 35,000 
			 Defence Scientific Advisory Council 200,000 
			 Depleted Uranium Oversight Board 554,700 
			 Independent Board of Visitors for the Military Corrective Training Centre 1,200 
			 National Employer Advisory Board 6,900 
			 Nuclear Research Advisory Council 30,000

Nuclear Weapons

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions  (a) he,  (b) other departmental Ministers and  (c) officials have had with the Legal Services Commission on delayed applications for compensation from retired members of the armed forces who took part in British nuclear weapons tests between 1952 and 1967; how many British nuclear test veterans have received compensation arising from exposure to radiation in such tests; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: Neither the Secretary of State for Defence nor other departmental Ministers have had discussions with the Legal Services Commission (LSC) with regard to the delayed applications for compensation from participants in the British nuclear tests of the 1950s and 1960s. The Treasury Solicitor's Department made one telephone call to the LSC in April 2005, following a stay in the legal proceedings which had been agreed between the parties pending a public funding decision for the Nuclear Test Veterans group action. This call was made with a view to ascertaining the likely timeframe for a public funding decision to assist in planning and progressing the proposed litigation. However, contact was not made with the LSC caseholder, no information was given about the funding position, and this initial contact was not followed up.
	Compensation under the War Pensions Scheme is paid on a no fault basis to former members of the armed forces for disablement causally related to service before 6 April 2005. Claims can be made at any time after service termination. At 30 September 2006, 179,000 war pensions were in payment. Centrally held statistics do not identify the number of nuclear test veterans who have received such compensation for disablement arising from exposure to ionising radiation in the course of these tests.
	The UK also administers its own compensation scheme for radiation linked diseases, but no nuclear test veteran has fulfilled the relevant criteria or therefore received an award.

Safe Houses

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence at what time and on what day in July 2003  (a) Dr. David Kelly and  (b) Richard Hatfield (i) arrived at and (ii) left the safe-house in Hockley provided by his Department.

Des Browne: holding answer 19 January 2007
	The Hutton Report (HC247 of 28 January 2004) and transcripts of evidence to Lord Button's inquiry give details of Dr. Kelly's movements during July 2003, and meetings between Dr. Kelly and Mr. Hatfield. Both meetings between Dr. Kelly and Mr. Hatfield on 4 and 7 July 2003, took place in Mr. Hatfield's office in London. Neither Dr. Kelly nor Mr. Hatfield stayed at any accommodation at Hockley.

Service Personnel: Medical Conditions

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many individuals in Band  (a) A,  (b) B,  (c) C and  (d) D were assessed as eligible for compensation under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme in its first year of operation.

Derek Twigg: For all claims registered between 6 April 2005 and 31 March 2006 under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme, there were less than 10 individuals assessed as being eligible for a Guaranteed Income Payment. There are individuals in each of the bands, but to preserve confidentiality the exact numbers cannot be disclosed. An evaluation report of the first year of operation of the scheme will be published shortly.

Statistics

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the process is for deciding the date of publication of statistics prepared by or relating to the Department; and who is involved in that process.

Derek Twigg: The National Statistics Code of Practice (2002)—which serves as a model for all public sector statistical work—established the principle that 'final responsibility for the content, format and timing of release of national statistics' rests with the Head of Profession for Statistics in each department. In reaching their decisions, Heads of Profession take into consideration the detailed procedural guidance given in the 'National Statistics Protocol on Release Practices'.
	Copies of the code and its 12 supporting protocols are available in the Library of the House and can also be accessed using the following address:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/about/national_statistics/cop/default.asp

Vessel Sales

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which  (a) Royal Navy and  (b) Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels have been sold to other countries since 1997; and what revenue was received by the Ministry of Defence in each case.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 24 January 2007
	The following list contains all surplus HMS-named capital vessels sold on a Government-to-Government basis:
	
		
			  Date of the contract of sale  Sold to  Price (£)( 1) 
			  Financial year 1997-98   
			 HMS Plover (2)Philippines (3)7.5 million for all three (receipts to MOD alone) 
			 HMS Peacock (2)— (3)— 
			 HMS Starling (2)— (3)— 
			
			  Financial year 1998-99   
			 HMS Unseen Canada (4)— 
			
			  Financial year 1999-2000 — — 
			
			  Financial year 2000-01   
			 HMS Bicester Greece (5)Sold with HMS Berkeley for a combined price of 10 million 
			 HMS Orkney Trinidad and Tobago 1.5 million 
			
			  Financial year 2001-02   
			 HMS Berkeley Greece (5)Sold with HMS Bicester for a combined price of 10 million 
			 HMS Orwell Guyana 1.5 million 
			
			  Financial year 2002-03   
			 HMS London (6)Romania (7)116 million for both 
			 HMS Coventry (6)— (7)— 
			 HMS Shetland (8)Bangladesh (9)8.0 million for all five 
			 HMS Alderney (8)— (9)— 
			 HMS Anglesey (8)— (9)— 
			 HMS Lindisfarne (8)— (9)— 
			 HMS Guernsey (8)— (9)— 
			 HMS Sheffield Chile 27 million 
			
			  Financial year 2003-04 — — 
			
			  Financial year 2004-05 — — 
			  Financial year 2005-06   
			 HMS Marlborough (10)Chile (11)134 million for all three (project ongoing) 
			 HMS Norfolk (10)— (11)— 
			 HMS Grafton (10)— (11)— 
			
			  Financial year 2006-07   
			 HMS Sandown (12)Estonia (13)32 million for all three (project ongoing) 
			 HMS Bridport (12)— (13)— 
			 HMS Inverness (12)— (13)— 
			 (1) Where appropriate, the above figures represent the total revenue for the MOD and Industry together. For those vessels sold on a Government-to-Government (G-2-G) basis in later years by the Ministry of Defence's Disposal Services Agency (DSA), there is usually an agreement with industry for regeneration and modernisation work. Much of the information on revenue received by the MOD from the sale of each individual vessel is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Some deferred/time-related payments will still be outstanding. (4) HMS Unseen was leased to Canada with an option to purchase, which has subsequently been exercised. The lease covers four submarines, the remaining three, HMS Unicorn, HMS Ursula and HMS Upholder are still under lease until 2008. The total value of this lease is Canadian $360 million for all four submarines—future exchange rate fluctuations make it impossible to estimate a final return in sterling at this time. (5) HMS Bicester and HMS Berkeley were transferred to the Hellenic Navy. This transfer involved the vessels being sold to Vosper Thorneycroft (VT) for £5 million each. VT prepared the vessels for transfer resulting in the MOD incurring minimum transfer costs. Although not transferred directly on a G-2-G basis, they are highlighted because of the significance of the sale. The Acquisition Agreement for HMS London and HMS Coventry for Romania for Romania covered the acquisition of these ships with UK MOD procuring their regeneration and modernisation through a "back-to-back" contract. The ships were already decommissioned, no longer in operational condition and were in need of major regeneration. The value to the UK of the project is £116 million including a return for the MOD of between £1.5 million and £2 million for the hulls (£200,000) and the provision of services. 
		
	
	No RFAs were sold on a Government-to-Government basis during this period.

Veteran's Badge

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the number of people entitled to the Veteran's Badge; how many claimed the badge in each month since its introduction, broken down by parliamentary constituency; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 22 January 2007
	The Ministry of Defence has insufficient information to make an accurate assessment of the number of people entitled to the HM Armed Forces Veterans Lapel Badge but estimates that the total number is around five million.
	The Veterans Badge was administered in London between May 2004 and 17 April 2005. During this period, 82,000 badges were issued; however detailed records of monthly application numbers were not kept.
	Since 18 April 2005, the Veterans Agency has been responsible for the Badge's administration. During this period, it has received 300,493 applications and issued 277,465 badges. The applications have been received as follows:
	
		
			   Application 
			  2005  
			 April 2,453 
			 May 11,117 
			 June 8,459 
			 July 9,742 
			 August 6,786 
			 September 8,099 
			 October 8,389 
			 November 9,295 
			 December 18,826 
			   
			  2006  
			 January 19,322 
			 February 20,762 
			 March 18,700 
			 April 13,378 
			 May 13,455 
			 June 19,091 
			 July 20,581 
			 August 19,132 
			 September 15,007 
			 October 14,345 
			 November 23,051 
			 December 20,503 
		
	
	The databases for the scheme do not have the capability to extract records of applicants by individual parliamentary constituencies.

British Citizens: Convictions Abroad

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 19 January 2007,  Official Report, column 1403W, on British citizens convictions abroad, for how many individuals convicted and given a custodial sentence her Department's database holds passport details.

Kim Howells: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office consular assistance database—Compass—does not incorporate a function to generate statistics on the number of British nationals under custodial sentence overseas for whom it holds passport details. This is primarily because such statistics are not needed for our principal function of ensuring the welfare of British nationals in detention overseas.

Burma

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the implications of recent ASEAN criticism of the Burmese regime for achieving  (a) national reconciliation and  (b) the release of political prisoners; and what representations she has made to counterparts in ASEAN member states on a charter for the association establishing common standards of governance among members.

Ian McCartney: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to him on 22 January 2007,  Official Report, column 1448W.
	At the Association of South East Nations (ASEAN) Summit, held in the Philippines on 13 and 14 January, ASEAN encouraged Burma to make greater progress towards national reconciliation and called for the release of those placed under detention. I believe ASEAN can play an important role in encouraging positive change in Burma. The UK, therefore, welcomed the stance ASEAN has taken.

Iraq

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the latest figures available to her Department on the population of Iraq are in each year from 1998-99 to January 2007; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: There has been no official census in Iraq since 1997. The result of that census gave a population of 22,017,983, but this data was deemed unreliable by the international community at the time. The Government of Iraq are planning a fresh census when conditions allow.

Middle East

John Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions she has had with  (a) the UN and  (b) other agencies on the situation of (i) the Palestinian community living in Iraq and (ii) those Palestinians who have been displaced or fled from Iraq; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not discussed the situation of the Palestinian community in Iraq with the UN or other agencies. However, the Government are concerned about the unacceptable number of internally displaced people and refugees in Iraq and is closely monitoring the situation.
	We are working with coalition forces and international organisations to ensure that those affected are protected and that their basic needs are met, and have just announced a £4 million contribution to the International Committee of the Red Cross to provide emergency assistance, including water, medical supplies and rehabilitation of health infrastructure. We are also in regular contact with the Government of Iraq as they develop their response to the humanitarian situation in Iraq.

Venezuela

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the effect on the flow of illegal drugs to the  (a) UK and  (b) EU of Venezuela's lack of co-operation in counter-narcotics operations with (i) neighbouring countries and (ii) the United States.

Kim Howells: We estimate that a significant proportion of cocaine transiting Venezuela is destined for Europe and the UK. Intelligence and seizures suggest that cocaine flows through Venezuela are increasing.
	It is important therefore that the UK, EU and Venezuela's neighbours are able to co-operate closely with the Venezuelan authorities in countering the flow of narcotics through the country. Preventing the importation of cocaine into the UK from Venezuela is a top priority for the UK's international counter-narcotics efforts. We are already working with Venezuela on counter-narcotics and are keen to increase our engagement. We welcome President Chavez's election pledge to tackle corruption. This will be an important element in developing the counter-narcotics effort in Venezuela. I visited Venezuela recently to understand the nature and extent of the drug problems encountered in that country.
	Co-operation between Venezuela and its regional neighbours is a matter or the Governments concerned.

Carbon Emissions

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when his Office began to measure its carbon emissions; what the volume of those emissions was in the last period for which figures are available; when his Office started to offset those emissions; what the cost is expected to be of offsetting his Office's emissions; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Hain: The Government set a target in the NI Sustainable Development Strategy of carbon neutrality for the Government estate by 2015.
	At the end of November I announced the publication of the Northern Ireland Sustainable Development Implementation Plan, 'A Positive Step'. A copy can be downloaded at:
	http://www.ofmdfmni.gov.uk/economic-policy-and-effectiveness.htm
	The plan sets out the key actions for achieving carbon neutrality including; reducing the size of the Government estate through the Workplace 2010 Project; reductions in carbon emissions through investment in renewable energy sources, again through the Workplace 2010 Project; increased use of electricity generated from green sources; and investing in energy efficiency through the Central Energy Efficiency Fund.
	The NIO occupies a number of buildings on agreement from the Department of Finance and Personnel. We will be working with colleagues in DFP and across the Northern Ireland Departments to ensure we play our part in achieving this target. In addition we are currently working on the installation of biomass heating and solar panels at Hillsborough Castle, the only building we occupy as owners.
	The NIO are also participating in the DEFRA run Government Carbon Offsetting Fund. All central Government ministerial and official air travel is being offset from 1 April 2006. Departmental aviation emissions are calculated on an annual basis and subsequently offset through payments to a central fund. The fund purchases Certified Emissions Reductions credits from energy efficiency and renewable energy projects with sustainable development benefits, located in developing countries.

Coronary Heart Disease

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people in each health board area have been diagnosed with coronary heart disease in each of the last five years.

Paul Goggins: Official estimates of the number of people diagnosed with coronary heart disease in each year are not available. However, under the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) of the General Medical Services contract, the total number of GP-registered patients with coronary heart disease is recorded. There are two years of data available as follows.
	
		
			  Table 1: Prevalence of Coronary Heart Disease 
			   Number of patients on QOF coronary heart disease register as at 14 February: 
			   2005  2006 
			 Eastern HSSB 32,018 32,180 
			 Northern HSSB 18,840 19,052 
			 Southern HSSB 13,102 13,534 
			 Western HSSB 10,961 11,222 
			  Source:  Payment Calculation and Analysis System.

Fuel Procurement

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he plans to use public transport fuel procurement as a means of creating a market in Northern Ireland for bio-diesel and bio-ethanol for transport purposes.

David Cairns: The procurement of fuel is an operational matter for public transport providers. Translink, the major provider of public transport services, is currently dialling bio-diesel and is carrying out a review of the technical, logistical and commercial issues associated with its use.

Lagan Valley Hospital

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to provide funding for the further development of the Lagan Valley hospital; and when he expects to respond to the business case put forward by the Down Lisburn Trust.

Paul Goggins: An allocation for the redevelopment of Local Hospitals was included in the £2.9 billion investment programme announced for health and social services over the next 10 years in the "Investment Strategy for Northern Ireland" in December 2005. Following appraisal by the Department the Business Case for the Development of the Lagan Valley Site was returned to Down Lisburn Trust for farther refinement. The Department awaits the resubmission of the Business Case which is expected in early March 2007.

Mental Health

Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many vacancies there are for mental health professionals specialising in the treatment of adolescents with mental health problems in each health board area.

Paul Goggins: The information requested is presented in the table.
	
		
			  Vacancies for mental health professionals specialising in the treatment of adolescents with mental health problems by health board as at January 2007 
			  HPSS organisation  Headcount  WTE 
			 Northern Board 11 11.00 
			 Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist 1 1.00 
			 Child and Adolescent Psychologist 1 1.00 
			 Looked After Children Psychologist 1 1.00 
			 Nurse Practitioners (Community Intensive Treatment Team) 4 4.00 
			 Paediatric Occupational Therapist (Community Intensive Treatment Team) 1 1.00 
			 Child and Young People's Substance Abuse Worker 3 3.00 
			
			 Eastern Board 17 17.00 
			 Psychiatrist 1 0.80 
			 Band 5 Nurse 15 15.00 
			 Band 7 CAMHS Lead Nurse 1 1.00 
			 Southern Board 1 0.60 
			 Senior Family Therapist Grade A 1 0.60 
			
			 Western Board 1 1.00 
			 Clinical Psychologist 1 1.00 
			
			 Total 30 29.60 
			  Notes: 1. WTE—whole-time equivalent 2. 9 (9.00 WTE) vacancies for the Northern Board Area are newly funded posts and still have to be advertised. The other two vacancies have been advertised and interviews are to be held shortly.  Source: NI HPSS Trusts

Mental Health

Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether his Department  (a) has evaluated,  (b) is undertaking and  (c) plans (i) to evaluate and (ii) to undertake research to determine the number of young people and adolescents in Northern Ireland with mental health problems.

Paul Goggins: The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS) commissioned an independent review of mental health and learning disability policy and legislation in October 2002. The Review has included policy and services for children and adolescents within its remit and their report has recommended that a study of the mental health needs of children be undertaken as soon as possible. Departmental officials are currently developing Government's response to the review overall.

Mid-Ulster Hospital

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the projected number of hospital beds available for use on site is at the Mid-Ulster Hospital, Magherafelt in  (a) 2006-07,  (b) 2007-08,  (c) 2008-09 and  (d) 2009-10.

Paul Goggins: The projected number of hospital beds available for use at Mid-Ulster Hospital, Magherafelt, from 1 January 2007 to 2009-10 is as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 Care of the elderly 41 
			 General medicine 40 
			 General surgery 33 
			 Paediatrics (1)10 
			 Day beds 12 
			 (1) Ambulatory beds, not in-patient 
		
	
	Under the "Developing Better Services" framework, acute hospital services in the Northern Board area will be focused on Antrim Area and Causeway Hospitals. Mid-Ulster Hospital will become a local hospital providing a range of day surgery, day procedures, diagnostics and out-patient services, with in-patient care of the elderly beds for assessment and rehabilitation.
	There are no immediate plans to revise bed capacity at the Mid-Ulster Hospital, until the implementation of "Developing Better Services". Future consideration however would have to address any issues of quality, safety, sustainability or best practice that could emerge during the planning period.

Rates Collection Agency

Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many owner-occupiers' housing benefit claims were received by the Rates Collection Agency in Northern Ireland in  (a) 2004,  (b) 2005 and  (c) 2006; and how many have been received in 2007.

David Hanson: The information is as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2004-05 16,704 
			 2005-06 19,979 
			 2006-07 (1)15,972 
			 (1 )Up to and including 21 January 2007

Renewable Energy

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent policy initiatives and activities the Department for Agriculture and Rural Development has undertaken on  (a) the production of energy crops and  (b) the use of farming waste materials for the production of biomass.

David Cairns: Policy initiatives and activities undertaken by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development on  (a) the production of energy crops include;
	Research and development;
	Specialist advice;
	Financial support for the growing of short rotation coppice willow;
	Administration of the EU Aid for Energy Crops Scheme
	Financial support for development of the willow chip supply chain;
	Proposed capital and marketing support under the draft Northern Ireland Rural Development Programme 2007-13, subject to EU Commission approval.
	Policy initiatives and activities undertaken on  (b) the use of farm waste for energy include:
	A proposed research and development programme and associated technology transfer activities;
	Proposals for an Agri-food Waste Challenge Fund, co-financed under the EU Competitiveness Structural Funds Programme 2007-2013. This Programme is currently subject to a public consultation and final decisions on Programme.
	All of these initiatives and activities are described within DARD's recently published Renewable Energy Action Plan. This Plan seeks to help farmers, landowners and wider rural community capitalise on the opportunities presented by renewable energy technologies.

Renewable Energy

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent assessment he has made of the levels of farm-based activity in renewable energy production in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

David Cairns: No formal assessment has been made of the levels of farm-based activity in renewable energy production in Northern Ireland. However, since 2003, DARD has committed a total of £4 million in grant assistance to a range of renewable energy projects and technologies across rural Northern Ireland. This includes support for short rotation coppice willow, with plantings expected to reach 800 ha in 2007. DARD has just published a Renewable Energy Action Plan to assist the land based and rural sector to realise the potential of renewable energy in a balanced and sustainable way.

Redundancy

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what arrangements are in place to allow civil servants facing redundancy in one Government Department to transfer to another; and if she will make a statement.

Hilary Armstrong: The Government have put in place a common framework to support Departments, in their handling of staff facing redundancy, to maximise redeployment opportunities and to minimise recourse to compulsory redundancies. In support of this process, a vacancy handling database has been developed to give affected staff priority access to vacancies across other Government Departments.

Autumn Performance Reports

Oliver Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what reason the Deputy Prime Minister's Department is not required to produce an Autumn Performance Report.

Stephen Timms: Autumn performance reports are primarily intended to provide the public, and particularly Parliament, with an update on public service agreements. Only those Departments with public service agreement targets are required to produce one.

Financial Services Industry

Ben Chapman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what data his Department collects on trends in the levels of remuneration of people employed in the financial services industry in London compared with other  (a) sectors and  (b) regions of the UK.

Edward Balls: The Office for National Statistics collects data on earnings in the financial sector and all other major industry sectors, as part of its annual survey of hours and earnings. the survey includes data for each region of the UK and is published on an annual, weekly and hourly basis, with separate data for basic and overtime pay.

Financial Services Industry

Iain Wright: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the economic effect on the regions of the City of London and the financial markets.

Stephen Timms: The Government have set out their assessment of the importance of the City of London and the financial markets to the UK economy as a whole in 'Financial services in London: Global opportunities and challenges, (March 2006), and The UK financial services sector: Rising to the challenges and opportunities of globalisation', (March 2005), including for example through connections between London and financial centres in Leeds and Edinburgh.

Royal Mint Booklet

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost was to the public purse of commissioning, publishing and distributing the Royal Mint booklet 'United into One Kingdom' published on 16th January 2007.

Edward Balls: The cost to the public purse of commissioning, publishing and distributing the Royal Mint booklet 'United into One Kingdom' published on 16 January 2007 is £15,316.

Clinical Negligence

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the 10 largest claims awarded against her Department under the Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts; and what the cause of complaint was in each case.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		
			  10 largest settled clinical negligence scheme for trusts claims as at  31 December 2006 
			  Cause of complaint  Damages paid (£) 
			 Failure/delay in responding to an abnormal fetal heart rate 5,555,000 
			 Delay in diagnosis of fetal distress 5,620,290 
			 Informed consent not correctly obtained 5,624,976 
			 Failure/delay in diagnosis 5,749,111 
			 Failure to respond birth complications 5,793,782 
			 Failure/delay in responding to an abnormal fetal heart rate 5,800,000 
			 Failure/delay in diagnosis 6,248,845 
			 Failure to monitor second stage labour 6,635,000 
			 Failure to perform tests 8,300,000 
			 Fail to diagnose pre-eclampsia 12,400,000

Emergency Admissions

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many emergency admissions for  (a) angina and  (b) asthma there have been to hospitals in Lancashire in the last five years.

Rosie Winterton: The information is not available in the format requested. The following table contains data for emergency admissions for angina and asthma over the last five years for the following national health service organisations.
	 From 2001-02 to 2002-03:
	Chorley and South Ribble National Health Service Trust;
	Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust;
	Burnley Healthcare NHS Trust;
	Morecambe Bay Hospitals NHS Trust;
	Communicare NHS Trust;
	Preston Acute Hospitals NHS Trust;
	Blackpool Wyre and Fylde Community NHS Trust;
	Blackpool Victoria Hospital NHS Trust;
	Preston Primary Care Trust (PCT);
	Blackpool Fylde and Wyre Hospitals NHS Trust;
	Blackburn Hyndburn and Ribble Valley Trust.
	 From 2003-04 to 2005-06:
	Blackpool Fylde and Wyre Hospitals NHS Trust;
	East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust;
	Hyndburn and Ribble Valley Primary Care Trust;
	Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust;
	University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust; and
	Preston PCT.
	
		
			   Angina  Asthma 
			 2001-02 2,943 2,096 
			 2002-03 2,723 1,962 
			 2003-04 2,279 2,214 
			 2004-05 2,024 2,195 
			 2005-06 2,285 2,198 
			  Notes:  1. Finished admission episodes: a finished admission episode is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.  2. Diagnosis (primary diagnosis): the primary diagnosis is the first of up to 14 (seven prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data set and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital.  3. Angina defined as the following ICD-10 code in primary diagnosis: I20 Angina Pectoris.  4. Asthma defined as the following ICD-10 codes in primary diagnosis: J45 Asthma; J46 Status asthmaticus.  5. Emergency admission is defined as the following admission methods:  21 = Emergency: via Accident and Emergency (A&E) services, including the casualty department of the provider.  22 = Emergency: via general practitioner (GP).  23 = Emergency: via Bed Bureau, including the Central Bureau.  24 = Emergency: via consultant outpatient clinic. 28 = Emergency: other means, including patients who arrive via the A&E department of another health care provider.  6. Ungrossed data: figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed).  7. Data quality: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) are compiled from data sent by over 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts in England. The Information Centre Health and Social Care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data via HES processes. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain.  Source:  Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The Information Centre for health and social care.

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered History Month

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost to her Department was of its activities for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered history month.

Rosie Winterton: Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) history month was instigated in the United Kingdom by "Schools Out", an anti-bullying campaign that aims to raise awareness of, and combat prejudice against, an otherwise substantially invisible minority.
	The Department spend £2,247 on our activities for the inaugural LGBT history month in 2005. For LGBT history month 2006 the Department spent £2,158.

Practice-based Commissioning

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of GP practices in  (a) England and  (b) each primary care trust were awarded (i) component one and (ii) component two of the directed enhanced service payment for implementing practice-based commissioning.

Andy Burnham: As of December 2006, 80 per cent. of general practitioner practices had taken up component one of the directed enhanced service (DES) payment. The figures for individual primary care trusts (PCTs) are listed in the table shown.
	The Department does not currently collect data on component two of the payment.
	
		
			  Percentage of practices taking up component one of the practice based commissioning DES, by PCT 
			  Strategic health authority (SHA)  Primary care trust (PCT)  Percentage of practices taking up DES1 
			  North East SHA Northumberland Care Trust 96 
			  Newcastle PCT 0 
			  North Tyneside PCT 87 
			  Gateshead PCT 79 
			  South Tyneside PCT 62 
			  Sunderland PCT 0 
			  County Durham 100 
			  Darlington PCT 100 
			  Stockton on Tees Teaching PCT 100 
			  Redcar and Cleveland 100 
			  Hartlepool 100 
			  Middlesbrough 5 
			
			  North West SHA Ashton, Leigh and Wigan 97 
			  Blackburn with Darwen 90 
			  Blackpool 92 
			  Bolton 100 
			  Bury 100 
			  Central and Eastern Cheshire 96 
			  Central Lancashire 91 
			  Cumbria 58 
			  East Lancashire 97 
			  Halton and St. Helens 12 
			  Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale 94 
			  Knowsley 100 
			  Liverpool 93 
			  Manchester 60 
			  North Lancashire 44 
			  Oldham 98 
			  Salford 98 
			  Sefton 42 
			  Stockport 0 
			  Tameside and Glossop 49 
			  Trafford 94 
			  Warrington 0 
			  Western Cheshire 0 
			  Wirral 100 
			
			  Yorkshire and the Humber SHA Barnsley 44 
			  Doncaster 100 
			  Rotherham 100 
			  Sheffield 99 
			  Bradford and Airedale Teaching 70 
			  Wakefield 100 
			  Leeds 0 
			  Calderdale 0 
			  Kirklees 97 
			  North East Lincolnshire 91 
			  North Yorkshire and York 81 
			  East Riding of Yorkshire 92 
			  Hull Teaching 98 
			  North Lincolnshire 86 
			
			  East Midlands SHA Nottingham City 37 
			  Northamptonshire 99 
			  Derby City PCT 91 
			  Lincolnshire PCT 92 
			  Bassetlaw PCT 83 
			  Leicestershire County and Rutland 100 
			  Nottinghamshire County PCT 51 
			  Derbyshire County PCT 89 
			  Leicester City PCT 98 
			
			  West Midlands SHA Sandwell 100 
			  Birmingham East and North 96 
			  Wolverhampton 0 
			  Heart of Birmingham 94 
			  South Birmingham 92 
			  Stoke PCT 100 
			  Shropshire County 95 
			  South Staffordshire 48 
			  North Staffordshire 54 
			  Telford and Wrekin PCT 0 
			  Herefordshire PCT 4 
			  Warwickshire 64 
			  Worcestershire 86 
			  Coventry PCT 0 
			  Solihull PCT 100 
			  Dudley PCT 53 
			  Walsall PCT 83 
			
			  East of England SHA Suffolk 100 
			  Peterborough 93 
			  Great Yarmouth and Waveney 100 
			  Luton PCT 100 
			  West Hertfordshire 94 
			  East and North Hertfordshire 45 
			  Bedfordshire 40 
			  West Essex PCT 23 
			  North East Essex PCT 100 
			  Mid Essex PCT 98 
			  South West Essex PCT 92 
			  South East Essex PCT 97 
			  Cambridgeshire 41 
			  Norfolk 99 
			
			  London SHA Barnet 94 
			  Camden 93 
			  Enfield 87 
			  Haringey 95 
			  Islington 0 
			  Wandsworth 94 
			  Croydon 94 
			  Sutton and Merton 98 
			  Richmond and Twickenham 97 
			  Kingston 100 
			  City and Hackney 0 
			  Redbridge 100 
			  Havering 100 
			  Newham 100 
			  Barking and Dagenham 95 
			  Waltham Forest 93 
			  Tower Hamlets 100 
			  Brent 89 
			  Westminster 0 
			  Hammersmith and Fulham 100 
			  Ealing 94 
			  Harrow 95 
			  Hillingdon 0 
			  Kensington and Chelsea 98 
			  Hounslow 0 
			  Bexley 97 
			  Bromley 92 
			  Greenwich 91 
			  Lambeth 93 
			  Lewisham 96 
			  Southwark 100 
			
			  South East Coast SHA Brighton and Hove 77 
			  East Sussex Downs and Weald 100 
			  Eastern and Coastal Kent 53 
			  Hastings and Rother 100 
			  Medway Teaching 93 
			  Surrey 99 
			  West Kent 0 
			  West Sussex Teaching 79 
			
			  South Central SHA Milton Keynes 96 
			  Portsmouth City PCT 83 
			  Southampton City PCT 100 
			  Hampshire PCT 100 
			  Buckinghamshire PCT 100 
			  Oxfordshire PCT 99 
			  Berkshire West PCT 95 
			  Berkshire East PCT 100 
			  Isle of Wight NHS PCT 100 
			
			  South West SHA Dorset 93 
			  Somerset 100 
			  Swindon 97 
			  Wiltshire 100 
			  South Gloucestershire PCT 0 
			  North Somerset 0 
			  Bristol 95 
			  Bath and North East Somerset PCT 100 
			  Gloucestershire 96 
			  Devon PCT 45 
			  Cornwall and Isles of Scilly PCT 100 
			  Torbay PCT 0 
			  Plymouth PCT 70 
			  Bournemouth and Poole PCT 100

Waiting Times

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in the Mid-Essex Hospital Trust area have been waiting more than 18 weeks for non-emergency treatment that is covered by the 18-week maximum wait target for treatment.

Andy Burnham: The information requested is not yet available.
	Voluntary collection and reporting of referral to treatment (RTT) data to support the 18-week target has been under way since autumn 2006. Mandatory national RTT waiting time collection for admitted patients begins this month, and for non-admitted patients in April. Publication will begin as soon as the data is of sufficient quality. For admitted data this is likely to be in the spring and for non-admitted data in the summer.
	The national health service undertook a baseline data research exercise in summer 2006 involving an estimation methodology that looked at hospital attendance and admission records from earlier in the year. The results, which do not have the status of official or national statistics but are available on the 18-week website at www.18weeks.nhs.uk, suggest that, nationally, in early 2006, the pathways of 35 per cent. of admitted and 70-80 per cent. of non-admitted patients met 18 weeks.

A-levels

Lee Scott: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many female pupils gained A level passes at A to C level in  (a) mathematics,  (b) chemistry,  (c) physics and  (d) biology in each of the last three years for which figures are available; and what percentage of the total number of pupils gaining passes at that level in each year each figure represents.

Jim Knight: The information requested is in the following table.
	
		
			  GCE A level passes at grades A to C by female candidates aged 16-18( 1)  in selected subjects, all schools and colleges, 2004 to 2006 
			   Number of females achieving a pass at grade A to C  Females as a percentage of all candidates achieving a pass at Grade A to C in subject 
			   2004  2005  2006  2004  2005  2006 
			 Mathematics(2) 13,984 14,169 15,920 40 39 40 
			 Chemistry 12,339 12,427 12,932 52 51 50 
			 Physics 4,077 3,891 3,778 24 24 23 
			 Biology 17,807 18,012 18,647 62 60 60 
			 All subjects 105,827 109,567 114,673 56 56 56 
			 (1) Age at start of academic year (i.e. 31 August) (2) Mathematics includes passes in GCE Further Mathematics

Biometric Technologies

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what  (a) meetings and  (b) correspondence he has had with (i) the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency, (ii) the Office of the Information Commissioner, (iii) other government departments and (iv) other groups or individuals on the updating of guidance to schools on the use of biometric technologies in the last six months; and what meetings he plans to have with those groups on subject in the next three months.

Jim Knight: holding answer 22 January 2007
	The officials held preliminary meetings with the Office of the Information Commissioner on 6 November 2006 and with the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (Becta) on 16 November 2006. Discussions are continuing in order to clarify what additional guidance it will be necessary to issue to schools on the use of biometric technologies. Further meetings will be held as appropriate in order to achieve this.

Early Retirement

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many teachers took early retirement in  (a) Chorley,  (b) Lancashire and  (c) England in each year since 1997, broken down by type of institution.

Jim Knight: The information requested is not available at local authority level.
	The following table provides the number of teachers who took early retirement, (defined as before the normal pension age of 60 on premature, actuarially reduced benefits (ARB) or ill health grounds) in each year from 1997-98 to 2005-06 broken down by type of institution in England.
	
		
			  Early retirements by type of institution( 1) ,1997-98 to 2005-06, England 
			   Maintained sector  Other sectors( 2)   
			  Financial year  Nursery/  primary  Secondary  Special/  PRU  Total maintained sector  Independent  Further and Higher education  Unknown  Total all sectors 
			 1997-98(3) 6,780 7,140 710 14,630 1,200 5,560 280 21,670 
			 1998-99 2,120 2,270 270 4,660 180 570 170 5,580 
			 1999-2000 2,250 2,490 240 4,970 180 580 130 5,870 
			 2000-01 2,740 2,730 330 5,800 260 830 110 7,000 
			 2001-02 2,580 2,930 350 5,860 370 1,010 110 7,350 
			 2002-03 2,680 2,990 320 5,990 400 1,150 130 7,670 
			 2003-04 2,940 3,540 320 6,810 400 1,030 200 8,440 
			 2004-05(4) 3,290 4,000 350 7,640 450 1,240 230 9,560 
			 2005-06(4) 3,370 4,370 380 8,120 590 1,290 270 10,270 
			 (1) The last known institution where the teacher was in teaching service which may have been some years before the date of retirement. (2) Including only those retirements from independent and further and higher education establishments covered under the Teachers' Pensions Scheme. (3) The effect of the change in the Teachers' Pensions Scheme, from 31 August 1997, was that many more teachers took early retirement in 1997 than in other years. Actuarially Reduced Benefits are included from 2000-01. (4) Provisional. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.  Source:  DfES Pensioner statistical system

Education Funding: Ashford

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much the Learning and Skills Agency spent on programme expenditure in Ashford local authority area in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Bill Rammell: The programme expenditure incurred by the Learning and Skills Council at local authority level is not collected by the Department. This is an operational matter for the LSC as they determine the level of funding required at local level to deliver their key priorities and targets. Mark Haysom, the council's chief executive, has written to the hon. Member with further information and copy of his reply has been placed in the House Library.

Education Funding: Gravesham

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much the Learning and Skills Agency spent on programme expenditure in Gravesham's local authority area in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Bill Rammell: The programme expenditure incurred by the Learning and Skills Council at local authority level is not collected by the Department. This is an operational matter for the LSC as they determine the level of funding required at local level to deliver their key priorities and targets. Mark Haysom, the council's chief executive, has written to the hon. Member with further information and a copy of his reply has been placed in the House Library.

Failing Schools

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools have been put on the failing list subsequent to the closure of a neighbouring school in its catchment area since May 1997.

Jim Knight: The information requested can be supplied only at disproportionate cost.

Further Education

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much funding has been made available for the provision of further education in  (a) absolute terms and  (b) per head of population in (i) Lincolnshire, (ii) Nottinghamshire, (iii) Derbyshire, (iv) Leicestershire, (v) Rutland and (vi) Northamptonshire in each year since 1997.

Bill Rammell: Between 1997 and 2005 we increased funding for further education by £2.5 billion—an increase of 48 per cent. in real terms. We are continuing to increase investment in further education with our overall investment in post-16 skills through the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) increasing from £9.9 billion in 2005-06 to £11.2 billion in 2007-08. Mark Haysom, the LSC's chief executive will write to you with further details regarding the local information that you have requested and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries.

Further Education Colleges

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what measures are planned to be used to assess the performance of further education colleges to determine the basis for intervention by the Learning and Skills Council under Clause 17, Part 2 of the Further Education and Training Bill 2007.

Bill Rammell: Further Education Colleges have the lead responsibility for assessing their own performance and identifying what needs to be done to secure continuous improvement.
	Clause 17 through the new section 56B will place an obligation on the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) to develop and publish its policy with respect to the exercise of its powers under section 56A. This will include its policy on assessing the performance of colleges to determine any appropriate LSC intervention.
	In the meantime, the guidance document "Identifying and Managing Underperformance" sets out an overview of the evidence base currently being used to determine whether LSC intervention is necessary. This guidance is available on the LSC website and a copy has been placed in the House Library.

History Teaching

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether the national curriculum includes provision to ensure that all children are educated on the history of the union of Scotland and England; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: holding answer 23 January 2007
	The national curriculum for history states that one of the six units pupils must be taught at key stage 3 is Britain 1500-1750, which comprises a study of crowns, parliaments and people; the major political, religious and social changes affecting people throughout the British Isles, including the local area if appropriate. The Programme of Study sets out a breadth of study specifying that pupils must be taught aspects of the histories of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

League Tables

Michael Wills: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many  (a) pupils,  (b) girls and  (c) boys attended schools deemed (i) inadequate, (ii) satisfactory, (iii) good and (iv) outstanding in each year since 1997.

Jim Knight: Between 2000 and 2004/05, schools' overall effectiveness was judged on the basis of a seven point scale as follows: (1) Excellent, (2) Very Good, (3) Good, (4) Satisfactory, (5) Unsatisfactory, (6) Poor and (7) Very Poor. Ofsted did not produce an overall judgment on schools' effectiveness prior to this. New school inspection arrangements came into operation from September 2005. These 'raise the bar' in terms of expectations on schools. Schools are now judged on the basis of a four point scale as follows: (1) Outstanding, (2) Good, (3) Satisfactory and (4) Inadequate.
	The following tables set out the available data from 2000 to 2005/06. Due to changes in inspection criteria in 2005/06, it is not possible to directly read across from tables A-F to G. The number of schools inspected each year varies and this impacts on the number of pupils attending schools in each of the categories.
	
		
			  Inspections of nursery, primary, secondary, special schools, pupil referral units, city technology colleges and academies conducted under section 10 of the School Inspections Act 1996 
			  Table A 
			  January 2000  Boys  Girls  Total pupils 
			 Excellent/Very Good 110,360 111,520 221,880 
			 Good 193,590 187,680 381,270 
			 Satisfactory 111,920 105,930 217,850 
			 Unsatisfactory, poor and very poor 50,280 44,290 94,570 
			 Total 466,160 449,420 915,570 
		
	
	
		
			  Table B 
			  2000/01  Boys  Girls  Total pupils 
			 Excellent/Very Good 189,110 192,340 381,450 
			 Good 307,850 292,720 600,570 
			 Satisfactory 190,760 176,930 367,700 
			 Unsatisfactory, poor and very poor 54,400 48,600 103,000 
			 Total 742,120 710,590 1,452,710 
		
	
	
		
			  Table C 
			  2001/02  Boys  Girls  Total pupils 
			 Excellent/Very Good 174,940 169,400 344,340 
			 Good 296,660 283,190 579,850 
			 Satisfactory 176,930 161,610 338,540 
			 Unsatisfactory, poor and very poor 47,120 42,950 90,070 
			 Total 695,640 657,160 1,352,800 
		
	
	
		
			  Table D 
			  2002/03  Boys  Girls  Total pupils 
			 Excellent/Very Good 160,690 173,090 333,790 
			 Good 280,910 263,180 544,090 
			 Satisfactory 170,490 156,140 326,630 
			 Unsatisfactory, poor and very poor 36,240 31,080 67,320 
			 Total 648,330 623490 1,271,820 
		
	
	
		
			  Table E 
			  2003/04  Boys  Girls  Total pupils 
			 Excellent/Very Good 127,630 131,020 258,650 
			 Good 353,350 343,630 696,980 
			 Satisfactory 202,360 188,240 390,600 
			 Unsatisfactory, poor and very poor 56,060 51,840 107,900 
			 Total 739,400 714,730 1,454,130 
		
	
	
		
			  Table F 
			  2004/05  Boys  Girls  Total pupils 
			 Excellent/Very Good 116,970 120,910 237,880 
			 Good 225,480 208,610 434,100 
			 Satisfactory 117,550 108,890 226,440 
			 Unsatisfactory, poor and very poor 26,570 23,270 49,840 
			 Total 486,580 461,680 948,260 
		
	
	
		
			  Inspections of nursery, primary, secondary, special schools, pupil referral units, city technology colleges and academies conducted under section 5 of the Education Act 2005 
			  Table G 
			  2005/06  Boys  Girls  Total pupils 
			 Outstanding 113,740 118,660 232,400 
			 Good 469,040 461,170 930,210 
			 Satisfactory 378,910 358,540 737,460 
			 Inadequate 108,740 98,720 207,460 
			 Total 1,070,430 1,037,100 2,107,530

League Tables

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the GCSE and equivalent results were for  (a) pupils attending maintained schools and  (b) pupils attending all schools at the end of key stage 4 in 2005-06 in each (i) local authority and (ii) Government office region.

Jim Knight: The information is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  GCSE and equivalent results of pupils at the end of key stage 4( 1)  in 2005-06( 2)  by gender for each local authority( 3)  and Government office region 
			   Maintained schools( 4)  All schools 
			   Number of pupils at the end of key stage 4  Percentage of pupils who achieved 5+ A*-C grades  Number of pupils at the end of key stage 4  Percentage of pupils who achieved 5+ A*-C grades 
			  North-east  31,682  57.4  33,181  58.2 
			 Hartlepool 1,196 57.5 1,223 56.3 
			 Middlesbrough 1,772 48.9 1,779 48.8 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 2,029 50.3 2,066 49.4 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 2,451 55.3 2,623 57.5 
			 Darlington 1,218 57.9 1,312 57.9 
			 Durham 5,936 56.6 6,181 57.9 
			 Northumberland 3,914 62.0 3,959 62.3 
			 Gateshead 2,280 69.7 2,349 68.8 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 2,868 55.8 3,384 60.6 
			 North Tyneside 2,284 62.2 2,429 62.0 
			 South Tyneside 2,003 55.5 2,011 55.3 
			 Sunderland 3,731 55.0 3,865 55.6 
			  
			  North-west  88,019  56.6  93,903  57.9 
			 Halton 1,560 52.6 1,563 52.5 
			 Warrington 2,505 66.4 2,522 66.0 
			 Cheshire 8,361 61.9 9,147 63.9 
			 Cumbria 6,191 57.9 6,665 58.8 
			 Bolton 3,678 51.1 4,116 54.1 
			 Bury 2,382 59.0 2,629 61.9 
			 Manchester 4,795 47.6 5,644 53.5 
			 Oldham 3,188 55.0 3,346 56.7 
			 Rochdale 2,783 50.3 2,829 50.1 
			 Salford 2,622 51.4 2,781 51.2 
			 Stockport 3,355 58.7 3,846 62.0 
			 Tameside 3,099 50.0 3,153 49.6 
			 Trafford 2,937 70.2 3,050 70.0 
			 Wigan 4,161 56.9 4,166 56.9 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 1,865 51.5 2,243 56.5 
			 Blackpool 1,712 48.9 1,825 51.3 
			 Lancashire 14,504 58.3 15,160 58.4 
			 Knowsley 2,013 48.8 2,021 48.6 
			 Liverpool 5,893 54.1 6,133 55.0 
			 St. Helens 2,258 56.6 2,367 56.1 
			 Sefton 3,891 61.9 4,201 64.2 
			 Wirral 4,266 57.7 4,496 58.3 
			  
			  Yorkshire and Humber  63,076  54.5  66,584  55.6 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 4,087 62.2 4,274 63.6 
			 Kingston upon Hull, City of 3,230 52.4 3,359 53.7 
			 North East Lincolnshire 2,212 48.2 2,248 48.3 
			 North Lincolnshire 2,150 54.1 2,184 53.3 
			 York 1,899 62.1 2,134 65.4 
			 North Yorkshire 7,384 64.2 7,946 65.9 
			 Barnsley 2,639 49.5 2,661 49.4 
			 Doncaster 3,847 51.9 3,928 51.2 
			 Rotherham 3,813 52.2 3,834 52.0 
			 Sheffield 5,755 48.5 6,062 49.9 
			 Bradford 6,095 50.2 6,552 51.5 
			 Calderdale 2,614 58.1 2,777 58.0 
			 Kirklees 4,737 53.0 5,069 52.4 
			 Leeds 8,489 52.2 9,028 54.1 
			 Wakefield 4,125 57.8 4,528 60.5 
			  
			  East Midlands  52,780  55.4  56,182  56.8 
			 Derby 2,914 55.6 3,053 55.8 
			 Derbyshire 9,018 57.1 9,558 57.6 
			 Leicester 3,583 47.6 3,923 49.6 
			 Rutland 487 68.2 781 80.2 
			 Leicestershire 7,829 58.4 8,419 60.1 
			 Lincolnshire 8,458 62.2 8,781 62.9 
			 Northamptonshire 8,144 54.5 8,690 56.7 
			 Nottingham 2,727 44.8 3,125 49.1 
			 Nottinghamshire 9,620 51.2 9,852 51.7 
			  
			  West Midlands  67,739  56.4  72,113  57.6 
			 Herefordshire 2,058 61.8 2,204 61.7 
			 Worcestershire 6,516 57.6 7,320 60.9 
			 Telford and Wrekin 2,182 55.4 2,277 56.3 
			 Shropshire 3,477 62.6 3,938 65.3 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 3,008 49.3 3,018 49.1 
			 Staffordshire 10,281 56.5 10,716 57.7 
			 Warwickshire 6,258 58.5 6,826 61.5 
			 Birmingham 12,465 58.8 13,297 58.4 
			 Coventry 3,747 47.9 4,109 51.1 
			 Dudley 4,070 55.8 4,118 55.6 
			 Sandwell 3,698 47.3 3,777 46.3 
			 Solihull 3,231 66.8 3,421 67.8 
			 Walsall 3,796 50.0 3,924 50.0 
			 Wolverhampton 2,952 55.9 3,168 57.3 
			  
			  East of England  65,367  59.3  71,090  61.4 
			 Luton 2,347 51.0 2,413 50.0 
			 Bedfordshire 4,799 56.2 5,353 60.1 
			 Peterborough 2,189 58.3 2,354 55.9 
			 Cambridgeshire 5,840 60.2 6,607 63.1 
			 Southend-on-Sea 2,099 63.0 2,157 63.1 
			 Thurrock 1,739 56.0 1,796 54.2 
			 Essex 16,346 59.0 17,067 60.1 
			 Hertfordshire 13,116 64.7 15,147 68.5 
			 Norfolk 8,972 55.4 9,505 57.0 
			 Suffolk 7,920 59.4 8,691 61.8 
			  
			  London( 5)  74,140  58.3  84,053  59.8 
			 Inner London 23,248 53.6 27,712 55.3 
			 Camden 1,474 54.7 1,799 60.8 
			 Hackney 1,391 50.9 1,630 48.3 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 1,153 62.1 1,632 67.3 
			 Haringey 2,113 51.7 2,369 53.5 
			 Islington 1,459 47.0 1,590 44.6 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 586 63.0 1,336 42.6 
			 Lambeth 1,409 55.4 1,559 54.8 
			 Lewisham 2,229 54.8 2,541 54.4 
			 Newham 3,308 52.8 3,402 51.6 
			 Southwark 2,331 48.8 2,846 56.0 
			 Tower Hamlets 2,553 56.3 2,725 55.2 
			 Wandsworth 1,841 58.3 2,304 61.8 
			 Westminster 1,401 48.7 1,979 54.6 
			  
			 Outer London 50,892 60.5 56,341 62.0 
			 Barking and Dagenham 2,007 55.8 2,128 52.7 
			 Barnet 3,419 65.5 3,953 66.8 
			 Bexley 3,219 64.2 3,225 64.1 
			 Brent 2,595 61.4 2,822 61.8 
			 Bromley 3,583 67.6 3,935 69.4 
			 Croydon 3,786 56.7 4,501 61.5 
			 Ealing 2,627 61.8 3,044 63.1 
			 Enfield 3,630 53.5 3,708 53.9 
			 Greenwich 2,499 43.0 2,788 45.1 
			 Harrow 2,160 64.3 2,680 68.5 
			 Havering 3,055 63.3 3,094 63.3 
			 Hillingdon 2,957 54.7 3,248 55.1 
			 Hounslow 2,613 63.1 2,735 61.5 
			 Kingston upon Thames 1,536 68.1 1,848 69.7 
			 Merton 1,572 48.2 1,840 55.3 
			 Redbridge 3,126 72.1 3,318 72.7 
			 Richmond upon Thames 1,405 56.5 2,055 66.9 
			 Sutton 2,510 70.8 2,625 70.9 
			 Waltham Forest 2,593 51.1 2,794 53.1 
			  
			  South-east  91,575  59.7  104,305  62.7 
			 Bracknell Forest 1,062 59.8 1,363 66.3 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 1,624 64.2 2,158 71.3 
			 West Berkshire 1,996 65.0 2,351 68.7 
			 Reading 1,025 56.1 1,360 64.3 
			 Slough 1,420 63.2 1,459 61.5 
			 Wokingham 1,826 64.5 2,066 66.9 
			 Milton Keynes 2,594 49.9 2,717 48.8 
			 Buckinghamshire 5,789 68.8 6,285 69.9 
			 Brighton and Hove 2,334 55.2 2,725 58.9 
			 East Sussex 5,455 55.4 6,145 57.9 
			 Portsmouth 2,045 47.6 2,386 54.3 
			 Southampton 2,424 48.4 2,715 52.7 
			 Hampshire 14,481 61.6 15,821 63.3 
			 Isle of Wight 1,555 47.9 1,670 50.2 
			 Medway 3,451 56.4 3,606 56.2 
			 Kent 16,731 61.4 18,378 63.1 
			 Oxfordshire 6,579 56.6 8,049 63.1 
			 Surrey 10,554 63.0 13,501 67.9 
			 West Sussex 8,630 58.9 9,550 61.3 
			  
			  South-west  58,113  58.2  64,306  60.8 
			 Bath and north-east Somerset 2,245 66.9 2,668 72.0 
			 Bristol, City of 3,104 43.8 4,035 54.3 
			 North Somerset 2,288 58.4 2,364 58.7 
			 South Gloucestershire 3,080 54.9 3,091 54.7 
			 Cornwall 6,151 57.3 6,433 58.4 
			 Isles of Scilly 27 85.2 27 85.2 
			 Torbay 1,496 54.2 1,540 54.5 
			 Plymouth 3,153 59.8 3,262 60.5 
			 Devon 7,956 58.0 8,843 60.3 
			 Bournemouth 1,842 54.7 1,959 56.9 
			 Poole 1,758 63.1 1,927 64.9 
			 Dorset 4,633 62.2 5,230 65.0 
			 Gloucestershire 7,099 63.9 7,882 65.6 
			 Somerset 5,952 56.6 7,030 61.1 
			 Swindon 2,286 53.5 2,319 52.7 
			 Wiltshire 5,043 58.2 5,696 62.0 
			  
			 Total maintained sector 592,491 57.5 — — 
			 Total all schools(6) — — 645,931 59.2 
			 (1) Number of pupils on roll at the end of key stage 4 in the 2005-06 academic year. (2) Including attempts and achievements by these pupils in previous academic years. (3) Local authority, Government office region and total (maintained sector) figures are adjusted for pupils recently arrived from overseas. (4) Information for GCSE and equivalent results for maintained schools at local authority level were published in SFR01/2007, "GCSE and Equivalent Examination results in England 2005-06 (Revised)" http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000702/index.shtml (5) Excludes City of London. (6) Includes City of London.

Learning and Skills Agency

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much the Learning and Skills Agency spent on programme expenditure in Tunbridge Wells local authority area in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Bill Rammell: The programme expenditure incurred by the Learning and Skills Council at local authority level is not collected by my Department. This is an operational matter for the LSC as they determine the level of funding required at local level to deliver their key priorities and targets. Mark Haysom, the council's chief executive, has written to the hon. Member with further information and a copy of his reply has been placed in the House Library.

School Exclusions

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many  (a) permanent and  (b) temporary exclusions there were in England in each year from 2000 to 2006; and how many were as a result of (i) drug taking, (ii) drug selling, (iii) violence towards other pupils, (iv) violence towards teachers, (v) vandalism of school property, (vi) theft of school property, (vii) possession of a weapon and (viii) other reasons;
	(2)  how many instances were reported of teachers in England being  (a) verbally and  (b) physically abused by (i) pupils and (ii) parents in each of the last 10 years.

Jim Knight: The number of assaults on school staff is not collected centrally.
	For the academic years 2003-04 and 2004-05 information is available on the reasons for pupil exclusions. These reasons include 'physical assault against an adult' and 'verbal abuse/threatening behaviour against an adult'.
	Tables showing the available information about the number of pupils who have been excluded from school on either a permanent of fixed period basis including all the available reasons for exclusion have been placed in the House Library.

School Leavers: Romford

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students within Romford constituency left secondary education having finished their GCSE qualifications and  (a) entered full-time employment and  (b) continued study at a further education establishment in 2005-06.

Jim Knight: In 2005, 180 (5.6 per cent.) of 16-year-olds in Havering left compulsory education and entered into employment.
	These data are for 16-year-olds resident in Havering LEA, figures are not available for Romford. It is for all 16-year-olds who have finished compulsory education, figures are not available for just those who have finished a GCSE qualification. The figures relate to the activity on 1 November 2005 after finishing compulsory education.
	At end 2004, 1,700 (56 per cent.) of 16-year-olds in Havering were participating in full-time education at a sixth-form college or other further education college. In addition a further 700 (22 per cent.) of 16-year-olds were participating in full-time education in schools.
	This data is for all 16-year-olds resident in Havering LEA, there is no information available solely on those that have finished their GCSE qualifications. Havering LEA is the smallest local area for which data is available. End 2004 is the most recent year for which data is available.

SEAL Programme

Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what funding will be provided to primary schools for the Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning programme in each of the next three years; what plans there are to provide funding for secondary schools for similar programmes; and whether such funding will be additional to the budget for the primary schools programme.

Jim Knight: The Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL) programme is being rolled out in phases. £7 million is available for Phase 2 of the primary roll-out this year (2006-07). A total of £7 million will also be available for Phase 3 of the primary roll-out and Phase 1 of the Secondary roll-out next year (2007-08). Decisions about SEAL funding for 2008-09 to 1010-11 will be made as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review that is currently taking place.

Student Statistics: Crayford

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students in Bexleyheath and Crayford left secondary education having completed GCSE qualifications and  (a) entered full-time employment and  (b) continued study at a further education establishment in (i) 2004-05 and (ii) 2005-06.

Jim Knight: In 2005, 174 (5.2 per cent.) of 16-year-olds in Bexley left compulsory education and entered full-time employment. Figures for 2006 are not yet available.
	These data are for 16-year-olds resident in Bexley LA; figures are not available for Bexleyheath and Crayford. It is for all 16-year-olds who have finished compulsory education; figures are not available for just those who have finished a GCSE qualification. The figures relate to the activity of school-leavers on 1 November 2005.
	At end 2004, 800 (26 per cent.) 16-year-olds in Bexley were participating in full-time education at a sixth form college or other further education college. In addition, a further 1,500 (50 per cent.) 16-year-olds were participating in full-time education in schools.
	This data is for all 16-year-olds resident in Bexley LA, there is no information available solely on those that have finished their GCSE qualifications. Bexley LA is the smallest local area for which data is available. End 2004 is the most recent year for which data is available.

Teacher Statistics

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many teachers  (a) were recruited and  (b) took retirement in each year from 1997 to 2006, broken down by local education authority.

Jim Knight: The information requested is not available at local authority level.
	The following table provides information within the maintained schools sector for the number of qualified teacher entrants and wastage by in England between 1997-98 and 2004-05, the latest year available.
	
		
			  Teacher flows—maintained schools sector: 1991-92,1997-98 to 2004-05; qualified teacher entrants and wastage by type and destination( 1)  England 
			   1991-92  1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04( 2)  2004-05( 2) 
			  Full-time:  
			  Entrants to full-time teaching in the maintained schools sector  
			 Newly qualified entrants(3) 12,710 18,010 16,820 17,630 16,780 18,330 20,790 22,250 21,950 
			 New to maintained sector(4) 4,430 5,770 5,320 5,900 7,060 7,500 6,150 5,290 5,570 
			 Returner to maintained sector(5) 7,580 5,300 5,410 5,870 7,070 8,710 7,820 6,870 8,080 
			 Total entrants 24,720 29,080 27,550 29,400 30,910 34,540 34,770 34,410 35,600 
			   
			 Joiners from part-time service(6) 5,210 4,910 4,630 4,790 5,440 4,950 5,030 4,060 4,700 
			   
			  Movement from full-time teaching in the maintained schools sector  
			 Out of service(7) 15,870 15,660 18,560 19,150 21,080 21,050 23,950 21,830 18,890 
			 Retired 10,680 13,810 5,700 6,080 6,650 6,540 6,610 7,230 7,770 
			 Total wastage 26,540 29,470 24,260 25,230 27,730 27,590 30,560 29,060 26,670 
			   
			 Leavers to part-time service(8) 4,960 6,910 6,780 7,440 8,190 9,710 9,900 10,570 11,660 
			   
			  Part-time:  
			  Entrants to part-time teaching in the maintained schools sector  
			 Newly qualified entrants(3) 350 890 840 810 600 570 760 990 1,000 
			 New to maintained sector(4) 2,190 2,750 2,910 3,170 3,720 3,680 3,770 4,110 4,110 
			 Returner to maintained sector(5) 7,520 5,190 5,110 4,850 5,520 5,550 4,910 4,760 5,310 
			 Total entrants 10,060 8,820 8,860 8,830 9,840 9,800 9,440 9,860 10,420 
			   
			 Joiners from full-time service(8) 4,960 6,910 6,780 7,440 8,190 9,710 9,900 10,570 11,660 
			   
			  Movement from part-time teaching in the maintained schools sector  
			 Out of service(7) 7,530 6,820 7,590 7,650 7,620 7,730 10,350 9,350 7,760 
			 Retired 1,290 2,750 2,360 2,510 2,610 2,240 2,380 2,580 2,850 
			 Total wastage 8,820 9,580 9,950 10,160 10,230 9,970 12,730 11,930 10,610 
			   
			 Leavers to full-time service(6) 5,210 4,910 4,630 4,790 5,440 4,950 5,030 406-0 4,700 
			  
			 (1) 10 to 20 per cent. of part-time teachers may not be included in the data. (2) Provisional estimates. (3) Teacher qualified in the previous calendar year. (4) Teacher has no known service in the English maintained schools sector, and qualified before the previous calendar year. (5) Teacher was not in service last year, but has some previous service in the English maintained schools sector. (6) Full-time joiners from part-time service are equivalent to leavers from part-time to full-time service. They are not included in total entrants or total wastage. (7) Teacher is no longer in service in the English maintained schools sector and is not receiving a pension. May be teaching in FE/HE sectors or Wales. (8) Part-time joiners from full-time service are equivalent to leavers from full-time to part-time service. They are not included in total entrants or total wastage.  Source: Database of Teacher Records.

Teacher Statistics

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many teachers took early retirement in  (a) Suffolk,  (b) Norfolk,  (c) Essex,  (d) Cambridgeshire,  (e) Bedfordshire,  (f) Hertfordshire and  (g) England in each year since 1997, broken down by type of institution.

Jim Knight: The information requested is not available at local authority level. The following tables provides the number of teachers who took early retirement, (defined as before the normal pension age of 60 on premature, actuarially reduced benefits (ARB) or ill health grounds) in each year from 1997-98 to 2005-06 broken down by type of institution in England and Wales.
	
		
			  Early retirements by type of institution( 1) , 1997-98 to 2005-06 
			  England and Wales 
			   Maintained schools sector 
			  Financial year  Nursery/primary  Secondary  Special/PRU  Total maintained sector 
			 1997-98(4) 7,510 7,840 750 16,100 
			 1998-99 2,280 2,430 280 4,990 
			 1999-2000 2.430 2,660 240 5,330 
			 2000-01 2,960 2,970 340 6,270 
			 2001-02 2,830 3,110 370 6,310 
			 2002-03 2,970 3,270 330 6,570 
			 2003-04 3,220 3,820 330 7,370 
			 2004-05(5) 3,560 4,330 360 8,260 
			 2005-06(5) 3,660 4,700 390 8,760 
		
	
	
		
			  England and Wales 
			   Other sectors( 2) 
			  Financial year  Independent  Further( 3)  and higher education  Unknown  Total all sectors 
			 1997-98(4) 1,230 5,850 310 7,390 
			 1998-99 180 180 180 540 
			 1999-2000 190 190 190 580 
			 2000-01 270 880 120 1,260 
			 2001-02 380 1,070 120 1,560 
			 2002-03 410 1,220 140 1,770 
			 2003-04 410 1,090 210 1,710 
			 2004-05(5) 460 1,320 250 2,020 
			 2005-06(5) 600 1,380 280 2,260 
			 (1) The last known institution where the teacher was in teaching service which may have been some years before the date of retirement. (2) Including only those retirements from independent and further and higher education establishments covered under the Teachers' Pension Scheme. (3) Includes sixth form colleges. (4) The effect of the change in the Teachers' Pension Scheme, from 31 August 1997, was that many more teachers took early retirement in 1997 than in other years. Actuarially Reduced Benefits are included from 2000-01. (5) Data are provisional.  Note: Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.  Source: DfES, Pensioner statistical system

Teaching Assistants: Lancashire

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many teaching assistants there were in schools in each local authority in Lancashire in each year from 1997 to 2006.

Jim Knight: The following table provides the number of full-time equivalent teaching assistants employed in maintained schools in the local authorities that make up the pre-1998 Lancashire local authority area for January of each year from 1997 to 2006.
	
		
			  Full-time equivalent teaching assistants in former Lancashire, Lancashire, Blackburn with Darwen and Blackpool local authority maintained schools: January of each year 
			   Former Lancashire  Lancashire  Blackburn with Darwen  Blackpool 
			 1997 1,780 — — — 
			 1998 2,000 — — — 
			 1999 — 1,670 300 190 
			 2000 — 1,830 350 220 
			 2001 — 2,190 430 290 
			 2002 — 1,960 360 190 
			 2003 — 3,130 530 390 
			 2004 — 3,300 580 430 
			 2005 — 3,570 610 480 
			 2006 — 3,890 650 480 
			  Note: Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.  Source:  Annual School Census (ASC)

Benefit Claimants

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people received  (a) incapacity benefit,  (b) disability living allowance,  (c) attendance allowance,  (d) bereavement benefits,  (e) carer's allowance,  (f) maternity allowance and  (g) severe disablement allowance in each of the last five years; how much was paid in each case in each year; and how much was spent on the administration of each in each year, broken down by (i) employee costs, (ii) IS/IT costs and (iii) other costs.

Anne McGuire: The available information is in the following tables.
	
		
			  Number of claimants in receipt of the listed benefits at the dates shown 
			   May 2002  May 2003  May 2004  May 2005  May 2006 
			 Incapacity Benefit (IB) 2,471,140 2,494,890 2,508,770 2,490,850 2,449,990 
			 Disability Living Allowance (DLA) 2,443,810 2,566,820 2,662,830 2,750,970 2,820,860 
			 Attendance Allowance (AA) 1 ,504,440 1,527,990 1,570,340 1,605,710 1,646,890 
			 Bereavement benefits (BB) 41,490 47,680 51,180 55,240 57,660 
			 Carer's Allowance (CA) 516,080 589,330 680,470 733,750 785,270 
			 Maternity Allowance (MA) 15,700 14,860 26,900 27,500 29,900 
			 Severe Disablement Allowance (SDA) 336,480 320,760 305,940 292,870 280,010 
			  Notes:  1. IB, SDA,DLA, AA and BB Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.  2. MA figures are rounded to the nearest 100.  3. AA, CA and DLA figures show all entitled cases—not just those in payment.  4. The sharp rise in MA figures from 2003 to 2004 is due to the change in MA rules. From April 2003 Maternity Allowance could be claimed for 26 weeks rather than the 18 weeks previously allowed.  5. 'Claimant' figures include all IB (including IB credits only cases).   Source:  For IB, SDA,DLA,AA and BB - DWP Information Directorate, Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100 per cent. data. For MA - DWP Information Directorate, 5 per cent. samples. 
		
	
	
		
			  Benefit expenditure on the listed benefits in Great Britain (real terms, 2006-07 prices) 
			  £ million 
			  2001-02 Outturn 2002-03 Outturn 2003-04 Outturn 2004-05 Outturn 2005-06 Estimated Outturn 
			 Attendance Allowance 3,536 3,566 3,695 3,845 4,012 
			 Disability Living Allowance 7,447 7,735 8,104 8,453 8,810 
			 Carer's Allowance 1,055 1,089 1,126 1,153 1,172 
			 Bereavement Benefit 1,244 1,193 1,076 965 905 
			 Incapacity Benefit 7,638 7,412 7,187 6,967 6,810 
			 Severe Disablement Allowance 1,177 1,050 1,000 960 919 
			 Maternity Allowance 63 75 136 156 168 
			  Source:  DWP benefit expenditure tables. 
		
	
	.
	The Department accounts for its administrative expenditure by strategic objective as set out in its public service agreements (PSA) and by individual requests for resources (RfRs) as set out in the departmental estimates and accounts, and not by benefit. Information on administrative expenditure by strategic objective is available in the annually published Departmental Report, copies of which are available in the Library.

Jobseeker's Allowance and Incapacity Benefit

Edward O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of people who made a new claim for jobseeker's allowance in the most recent year for which figures are available were in work  (a) six months and  (b) one year later; and how many there were (i) in total, (ii) aged 25 to 49 and (iii) aged over 50 years.

James Plaskitt: The available information is in the table and represents the minimum numbers and proportions of people who satisfy the given criteria.
	
		
			  New claims for jobseeker's allowance, April 2004 to March 2005 
			   Proportion (Percentage)  Total  Aged 25-49  Aged 50 and over 
			 In work six months later 39 672,650 331,960 99,150 
			 In work one year later 43 740,130 366,520 107,540 
			  Notes:  1. Data on employment is available to the 26 of November 2006. As such, the latest operational year of new claimants for which (a) and (c) are answerable is April 2004 to March 2005, and the latest operational year of claims reaching their first anniversary for which (b) and (d) are answerable is April 2003 to March 2004 (and thus relates to people making a new claim during April 2002 and March 2003).  2. The figures quoted in this response come from data in the National Benefits Database and the Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study (WPLS).  3. Figures in this response are based upon periods of employment measured from the WPLS, which is based on data from Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC). The figures given can be taken as a minimum only for the following (not necessarily comprehensive) reasons: (i) Some records show that a person started or ended employment at some point in the year, but the exact date on when they started or left their job is unknown, and therefore we do not know if they were employed at the points in time specified in this query. (ii) If a person's earnings are sufficiently low that they fall below the lower income tax threshold and so are not required to pay PAYE income tax on their earnings then there is no requirement to inform HMRC of their employment (although some employers declare these jobs anyway). (iii) This data does not include the self-employed. (iv) Poor quality personal data may lead to missed matches with benefits data. (v) No "HMRC sensitive and secure" information is supplied by HMRC (for example, HMRC employees, members of the security services).

Jobseeker's Allowance and Incapacity Benefit

Edward O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of people who left  (a) jobseeker's allowance and  (b) incapacity benefit in the most recent year for which figures are available made a subsequent claim for the benefit within a year (i) in total, (ii) aged 16 to 24, (iii) aged 25 to 49 and (iv) aged 50 years to state pension age.

James Plaskitt: The information is in the following tables.
	
		
			  Percentage of people who left jobseeker's allowance between 1 June 2004 and 31 May 2005, and re-claimed jobseeker's allowance within a year 
			  Age at start of re-claim  Percentage 
			 All 47.1 
			 16 to 24 53.4 
			 25 to 49 45.3 
			 50 to state pension age 37.5 
		
	
	
		
			  Percentage of people who left incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance between 1 June 2004 and 31 May 2005, and re-claimed incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance within a Year 
			  Age at start of re-claim  Percentage 
			 All 18.0 
			 16 to 24 22.4 
			 25 to 49 22.6 
			 50 to state pension age 11.4 
			  Notes:  1. Percentages are shown to one decimal place  2. Figures for the latest quarter do not include any late notifications and are subject to major changes in future quarters.  Source:  DWP Information Directorate 5 per cent. sample and 5 per cent. termination dataset.

Jobseeker's Allowance and Incapacity Benefit

Edward O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of people who left jobseeker's allowance in the most recent year for which figures are available claimed incapacity benefit within a year  (a) in total,  (b) aged 16 to 24,  (c) aged 25 to 49 and  (d) aged 50 years to state pension age.

James Plaskitt: The information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Percentage of people who left jobseeker's allowance between 1 June 2004 and 31 May 2005, and claimed incapacity benefit/severe disablement within a year 
			  Age  Percentage 
			 All 12.5 
			 16 to 24 10.1 
			 25 to 49 13.4 
			 50 to state pension age 15.6 
			  Notes:  1. Percentages are shown to one decimal place  2. Figures for the latest quarter do not include any late notifications and are subject to major changes in future quarters.  Source:  DWP Information Directorate 5 per cent. sample and 5 per cent. terminations dataset.

Jobseeker's Allowance and Incapacity Benefit

Edward O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of people who left incapacity benefit in the most recent year for which figures are available claimed jobseeker's allowance within a year  (a) in total,  (b) aged 16 to 24,  (c) aged 25 to 49 and  (d) aged 50 years to state pension age.

James Plaskitt: The information is in the following table:
	
		
			  Percentage of people who left incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance between 1 June 2004 and 31 May 2005, and claimed jobseeker's allowance within a year 
			  Age at start of jobseeker's allowance claim  Percentage 
			 All 23.5 
			 16 to 24 41.3 
			 25 to 49 30.0 
			 50 to state pension age 10.6 
			  Notes:  1. Percentages are shown to one decimal place  2. Figures for the latest quarter do not include any late notifications and are subject to major changes in future quarters.  Source:  DWP Information Directorate 5 per cent. sample and 5 per cent. terminations dataset.

Incapacity Benefit

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the expenditure on incapacity benefit was in each  (a) region and  (b) country of the UK in the last period for which figures are available.

Anne McGuire: The available information is in the following table.
	
		
			  2005-06 Expenditure (cash terms) 
			  £ million 
			   Provisional outturn 
			 Great Britain 6,644 
			 England 5,206 
			 North East 478 
			 North West 1,098 
			 Yorkshire and The Number 627 
			 East Midlands 475 
			 West Midlands 631 
			 East of England 420 
			 London 512 
			 South East 527 
			 South West 438 
			 Wales 599 
			 Scotland 802 
			 Outside Great Britain 38 
			  Notes:  1. Totals may not sum due to rounding.  2. All figures have been rounded to the nearest million pounds.  3. Great Britain expenditure is consistent with the Department for Work and Pensions' accounts for 2005-06 and has been apportioned between regions and countries using information in the 2006 Country and Regional Analysis exercise.  4. Expenditure outside Great Britain relates to benefit entitlement resulting from residence in Great Britain, but benefit is actually in payment to people living abroad.  5. As the Department is only responsible for Great Britain, Northern Ireland benefit expenditure has not been included and is dealt with by the Department for Social Development in Northern Ireland.  6. Expenditure information is published on the Department's website at the following address: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/expenditure.asp  7. The expenditure shown in the table is not consistent with information currently published on the Department's website. That information relates to the position at Budget 2006 and it will be updated following the 2006 pre Budget report.   Source: Department for Work and Pensions accounts for 2005-06 and administrative data.

Incapacity Benefit

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in each London borough suffering from obesity claimed incapacity benefit in each of the last five years for which figures are available; what proportion of the total expenditure on incapacity benefit in each borough was accounted for by people suffering from obesity in each year; and how much was spent on disability pensions for people suffering from obesity in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Anne McGuire: Information is available only on those claiming incapacity benefits whose primary diagnosis is obesity. The available information is in the following tables.
	
		
			  Number of incapacity benefit (IB)/severe disablement allowance (SDA) claimants in London, whose primary diagnosis is recorded as obesity, at the end of the quarter shown 
			   Quarter ending 
			  London local authority  May 2002  May 2003  May 2004  May 2005  May 2006 
			 Barking and Dagenham 10 10 10 10 10 
			 Barnet 10 10 10 10 10 
			 Bexley 10 10 10 10 10 
			 Brent 10 10 10 10 10 
			 Bromley 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Camden 10 10 20 10 10 
			 Croydon 10 10 10 20 20 
			 Baling 20 20 10 10 10 
			 Enfield 10 10 10 10 10 
			 Greenwich 0 10 0 0 0 
			 Hackney 20 30 30 30 30 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 0 0 10 0 0 
			 Haringey 10 10 10 10 10 
			 Harrow 10 10 10 10 10 
			 Havering 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Hillingdon 10 10 10 10 10 
			 Hounslow 10 10 10 10 20 
			 Islington 20 20 10 10 10 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 0 0 10 0 10 
			 Kingston upon Thames 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Lambeth 10 20 20 20 20 
			 Lewisham 0 0 10 10 10 
			 Merton 0 10 0 0 0 
			 Newham 30 20 20 20 20 
			 Redbridge 0 10 10 10 10 
			 Richmond upon Thames 0 10 0 10 0 
			 Southwark 20 20 20 10 20 
			 Sutton 0 0 0 10 0 
			 Tower Hamlets 10 10 10 10 10 
			 Waltham Forest 10 10 10 10 10 
			 Wandsworth 10 10 10 10 10 
			  Notes: 1. Caseloads are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Totals may not sum due to rounding. 3. Local authorities and Government office regions are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant postcode directory. 4. Causes of incapacity are based on the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, published by the World Health Organisation.  Source: Information Directorate five per cent sample and 100 per cent. WPLS 
		
	
	
		
			  Percentage of London IB/SDA spending on those recipients whose primary diagnosis is obesity 
			  May 2002  May 2003  May 2004  May 2005  May 2006 
			 0.08 0.08 0.08 0.09 0.10 
			  Notes: These figures were calculated using average weekly amounts and caseloads for London region.

Pension Credit

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people were in receipt of pension credit in Eastbourne constituency in each year since 2003; and how much was claimed in total in pension credit in each year.

James Purnell: The answer is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Household recipients of pension credit and pension credit expenditure in Eastbourne constituency, 2003 to 2006 
			   Household recipients  Annual pension credit expenditure (£ million) 
			 November 2003 3,890 9.1 
			 May 2004 4,700 10.4 
			 May 2005 5,150 11.4 
			 May 2006 5,320 12.4 
			  Notes:  1. Expenditure figures are consistent with the pre-Budget report 2006 and are rounded to the nearest million.  2. The number of households in receipt are rounded to the nearest 10.  3. Annual expenditure figures are based on the household recipient figures for November 2003, May 2004, May 2005 and May 2006. Estimates refer to financial years. For example 2006 refers to 2006-07.  4. Pension credit was introduced on 6 October 2003 and replaced minimum income guarantee (income support for people aged 60 or over).  5. Household recipients are those people who claim pension credit either for themselves only or on behalf of a household.  Source:  DWP Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100 per cent. data, DWP Accounts and Forecasts for 2006-07

Pension Credit

Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners in  (a) Morecambe and Lunesdale and  (b) Lancashire receive pension credit.

James Purnell: The answer is set out in the following table.
	Household recipients of pension credit for Morecambe and Lunesdale parliamentary constituency and the county of Lancashire—May 2006
	
		
			   Pension credit household recipients (000) 
			 Morecambe and Lunesdale parliamentary constituency 5.16 
			 County of Lancashire 55.16 
			  Notes: 1. Caseload figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Household recipients are those people who claim pension credit either for themselves only or on behalf of a household. 3. Parliamentary constituencies and county areas are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant postcode directory. Constituencies are therefore based on the 2005 parliamentary boundaries.  Source:  DWP Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100 per cent. data

Pensions

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list the British colonies and overseas dependencies where the UK state pension payable to UK pensioners resident there is  (a) indexed and  (b) not indexed against inflation; and if he will make a statement.

James Purnell: The British Overseas Territories where UK state pensions are indexed against inflation are Bermuda, Gibraltar and the Sovereign bases on Cyprus.
	UK state pension are not indexed against inflation in Anguilla, British Antarctic Territory, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Montserrat, Pitcairn Island, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, St. Helena and Dependencies (Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha) and Turk and Caicos Islands.

Poverty Statistics

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what percentage of  (a) female and  (b) male pensioners live in poverty.

James Plaskitt: Specific information regarding low income for Great Britain is available in "Households Below Average Income 1994/95-2004/05". The threshold of below 60 per cent. contemporary median income is the most commonly used in reporting data on low income.
	The information requested is shown in the table as follows.
	
		
			  Table 1: Female and male pensioners living in households with less than 60 per cent. contemporary median income—Great Britain 
			  2004-05—AHC  
			 Female number (million) 1.1 
			 Female proportion (%) 17 
			 Male number (million) 0.6 
			 Male Proportion (%) 16 
			  Note: Due to rounding, the figures for female and male pensioners do not sum to the 1.8 million pensioners in low income households (after housing costs) shown on page 93 of HBAI publication.  Source: Family Resources Survey AHC = After Housing Costs.

Public Opinion Research

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department has spent on commissioning public opinion research in each of the last five years.

Anne McGuire: My Department carried out limited annual public attitude omnibus surveys between 2001 and 2004. In 2005, in order to make the findings more robust, an increased number of new attitude statements were tested among the public prior to being included in omnibus research. In 2005 we also conducted a piece of research to monitor public awareness of the Department and its responsibilities.
	
		
			 £ 
			 2001 Public Attitudes - Wave 1 9,350 
			 2000 Public Attitudes Wave 2 9,600 
			 2003 Public Attitudes Wave 3 10,450 
			 2004 Public Attitudes Wave 4 11,100 
			 2005 Public Attitudes Wave 5 and New 1 Public Awareness 86,000 
			 2006  50,000 
			 Total costs  160,600

Winter Fuel Payment

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the total cost of the winter fuel payment was in each year since its introduction.

James Purnell: The information requested is in the following table .
	
		
			  Total cost of winter fuel allowance paid out in Great Britain 
			 Outturn Cash Terms £ million 
			 1997-98 191 
			 1998-99 194 
			 1999-2000 759 
			 2000-01 1,749 
			 2001-02 1,681 
			 2002-03 1,705 
			 2000-04 1,916 
			 2004-05 1,962 
			 2005-06 1,982 
			  Notes:  1. Figures are rounded to the nearest million.  2. Winter fuel payment was introduced in 1997.  3 Payments made to people aged 60 to 64 years and over 80 payment are included from 2000-01 onwards. Following a European Court of Justice Judgement in 1999, winter fuel payments were extended to people aged 60 or over regardless of whether they were receiving a social security benefit. A claims process was set up in the year 2000 to enable payments to be made to those people who could not be identified through the Department's records.   Source:  DWP Expenditure tables consistent with Pre Budget Report 2006.

Olympics 2012

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether her decision to commission a cost review by KPMG into the London Olympics required approval by the Treasury.

Tessa Jowell: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my right hon. Friend the Financial Secretary to the Treasury on 13 December 2006,  Official Report, column 1197W.

Departmental Studies

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the Answer of 11 December 2006,  Official Report, columns 811-2W, on departmental studies, what the cost to her Department was of commissioning each report.

David Lammy: The following studies are incomplete; costs will be made public on completion:
	Measuring Elasticity of Tourism Demand;
	Casino Impacts Scoping Study;
	Sport's Contribution to Achieving Wider Social Benefits;
	Review of Evidence base for delivering SP2/PSA3;
	Assess local authority delivery against national standards;
	Creative industry promotion—an international perspective;
	International dimension of the Creative Economy;
	Exploring Creative Industry Spillovers;
	Public value research;
	Independent Technical Review on Sport and Leisure Facility Equity Indicators.
	The following studies have been completed and associated costs shown in the following table:
	
		
			   £ 
			 Evaluation of the 7 July Assistance Centre 15,007 
			 Literature Review and Survey of Statistical Sources on Remote Gambling 30,000 
			 Economic Impact of DCMS Cultural Investment 54,958 
			 Creative Industries Analysis 50,445 
			 BBC Charter Review Research 50,100 
			 Licensing Act 2003: The experience of smaller establishments in applying for live music authorization 92,500 
			 Assessing the readiness of social housing sector for Digital Switchover 51,425 
			 Governance of Non-Departmental Public Bodies 81,745 
			 Knowledge Economy 25,000 
			 Scoping links between the creative industry and the rest of the economy 4,000 
			 Review of the performance indicator framework for national museums and galleries 29,855 
			 Heritage Protection Review Assessment of eight pilot projects 18,417 
			 Peer Review of English Heritage 31,294 
			 Literature Review into people's needs in emergencies 15,460 
			 KPMG's advice on costs of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games 455,438 
			 Valuation of the Horserace Totalisator Board 101,299

Film Industry

Peter Soulsby: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what support is available for companies investing in film production in the East Midlands region.

Shaun Woodward: Government support film production in the East Midlands through three routes. Firstly, the UK Film Council's Regional Investment Fund for England (RIFE) which invests both grant in aid and lottery funding in EM Media, the regional screen agency for the East Midlands. Secondly, the UK Film Council's central production funds—the Premiere, New Cinema and Development Funds; and thirdly, through tax relief for film production in the UK.
	In addition to financial support for film making, the EM Media also provides guidance, support, direction and access to training and skills development for media businesses and individuals, whilst championing the region as a filming location.

Performing Arts

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 19 January 2007,  Official Report, column 1361W, on performing arts, if she will break down the figures into grant in aid and Lottery funding.

David Lammy: The figures are as follows:
	
		
			  £ million 
			   Grant in aid  Lottery  Total 
			 2001-02 168.61 79.10 247.71 
			 2002-03 191.07 60.88 251.95 
			 2003-04 216.85 107.04 323.89 
			 2004-05 235.80 173.47 409.27 
			 2005-06 251.80 80.05 331.85

Performing Arts

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 19 January 2007,  Official Report, column 1360W, on performing arts, how much was allocated to  (a) theatre,  (b) dance and  (c) opera in each year since 2001, broken down by grant in aid and lottery funding.

David Lammy: The figures are as follows:
	
		
			  (a) Theatre 
			  £ million 
			   2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Grant in Aid 58.61 71.67 86.32 92.06 96.06 
			 Lottery 15.71 7.82 30.10 100.71 26.16 
			 Total 74.32 79.49 116.42 192.76 122.22 
		
	
	
		
			  (b) Dance 
			  £ million 
			   2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Grant in Aid 30.73 34.23 36.81 40.60 44.37 
			 Lottery 10.99 5.00 17.90 13.03 9.21 
			 Total 41.72 39.23 54.72 53.63 53.58 
		
	
	
		
			  (c) Opera 
			  £ million 
			   2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Grant in Aid 37.89 40.21 42.14 45.66 48.14 
			 Lottery 1.00 0.20 10.77 1.04 5.19 
			 Total 38.89 40.41 52.91 46.70 53.33

Swimming

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans the Government have to encourage swimming; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Caborn: £3.6 million is being provided by Sport England to the Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) for the financial year 2005-06 through Whole Sport Plans. Approximately half of this funding is to boost grassroots participation in swimming. Sport England is also working with the Department of Health and the ASA to draw together best practice guidance in the provision of free swimming for key target groups, including children and older people to increase community participation.
	Swimming also has a significant role to play within the national strategy for PE, School Sport and Club Links, delivered jointly with the Department for Education and Skills. In April 2006 the top up swimming scheme was launched. It is investing £5.5 million over two years to support pupils swim 25 metres before they finish primary school. A further £742,000 is being invested in 2006-08 with the ASA through National School Sport programmes; Club Links and Step into Sport.

Theatres

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 19 January 2007,  Official Report, column 1279W, on theatres, if she will break down the figures into grant in aid and lottery funding.

David Lammy: The figures are as follows:
	
		
			  £ million 
			   Grant in aid  Lottery  Total 
			 2001-02 58.61 15.71 74.32 
			 2002-03 71.67 7.82 79.49 
			 2003-04 86.32 30.10 116.42 
			 2004-05 92.06 100.71 192.76 
			 2005-06 96.06 26.16 122.22

Tourism

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment her Department has made of the regional breakdown of spending by overseas visitors to the UK; and if she will make a statement.

Shaun Woodward: The following table shows the regional breakdown of spending by overseas visitors to the UK in 2005.
	
		
			  Region  Spending (£ million) 
			 London 6,859 
			 North East 206 
			 North West 883 
			 Yorkshire 387 
			 West Midlands 533 
			 East Midlands 365 
			 East of England 709 
			 South West 868 
			 South East 1,470 
			  Total England( 1)  12,302 
			   
			 Scotland 1,208 
			 Wales 311 
			 Northern Ireland 131 
			   
			  Total UK( 1)  14,122 
			 (1 )Totals may include elements of expenditure that are not attributable to a particular region.  Source: International Passenger Survey (ONS)

Tourism

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many trips to the UK were made by tourists from overseas in each year since 1997; and if she will make a statement.

Shaun Woodward: The following table shows the number of visits to the UK by overseas residents since 1997.
	
		
			   Total visits (Thousand) 
			 1997 25,515 
			 1998 25,745 
			 1999 25,394 
			 2000 25,209 
			 2001 22,835 
			 2002 24,180 
			 2003 24,715 
			 2004 27,755 
			 2005 29,970 
			  Source: International Passenger Survey (ONS)

Business Links

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the  (a) budget and  (b) expenditure was of Business Links on business advice and support in each financial year since 2000-01.

Margaret Hodge: The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) have funded the Business Link service since 2000. The budget allocations for this have been as follows:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2000-01 138 
			 2001-02 141 
			 2002-03 147 
			 2003-04 139 
			 2004-05 140 
			 2005-06 140 
			 2006-07 140 
			  Source: The Small Business Service Agency Annual Accounts and Reports. 
		
	
	Since April 2005, contracts for the delivery of Business Link services have been managed by the RDAs and provided by contracted organisations including chambers of commerce, private sector businesses and other non-departmental public sector bodies.
	The aforementioned budgets represent only a portion of the total available to the service contractors. The total budget and expenditure by individual organisations can only be determined by the organisations themselves and I would encourage the right hon. Member to approach them directly with this question.
	It is worth noting that the budgets from the DTI are made available to the RDAs through their 'single pot' of money and is distributed in accordance with their regional economic strategies.

Hydrogen Fuel Cells

Andy Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he is taking to assist hydrogen fuel cell technology research and development; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: Hydrogen is an 'energy carrier' rather than a fuel source as, like electricity, it can only be produced using energy.
	Hydrogen can be used in:
	a fuel cell, where it produces zero emissions at the point of use
	normal combustion, (e.g. in an internal combustion engine)
	In 2004, the Department of Trade and Industry, commissioned analysis from the energy consultants E4Tech, Element Energy, and Eoin Lees. This analysis indicates that for the UK, the use of hydrogen as a transport fuel offers significant opportunities for cost-competitive CO2 reduction by 2030. Six different types of transport energy chain have this potential and also offer increased energy security. None is readily available today and each would require significant changes to the energy system. However, they are sufficiently promising to be worth pursuing as energy options for the UK. This analysis was published on the Department's website and can be found at:
	http://www.dti.gov.uk/energy/sources/sustainable/hydrogen/page26734.html.
	On 15 June 2005, the Government responded to this analysis and published a "A Strategic Framework for Hydrogen Energy Activity in the UK" which included a funding package worth £15 million over four years for a UK wide hydrogen and fuel cell demonstration programme. The first call for proposals for the demonstration scheme has now closed and I anticipate that a second call for proposals will operate in 12-18 months time. Further information is available on the scheme's website:
	http://www.hfccat-demo.org/
	Currently, the Department for Trade and Industry supports industrial collaborative research and development for fuel cell and hydrogen technologies through the Technology programme. Bids specifically for hydrogen technologies have been invited since April 2005. The programme seeks to advance these technologies for both stationary power generation and transport applications, with a view to achieving the cost reductions and performance levels necessary for commercial deployment. This support currently amounts to approximately £2-3 million per annum.
	The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), including through the SUPERGEN initiative, support basic research in universities on both fuel cells and hydrogen. SUPERGEN supports the UK Sustainable Hydrogen Energy Consortium (UK SHEC) which has received funding of £2.5 million. This programme is supporting projects on: hydrogen generation; hydrogen storage; and socio-economic implications for a hydrogen economy.
	EPSRC also supports the separate Fuel Cell SUPERGEN consortia. This is a four-year programme which began on 1 September 2005. This consortium is supported with funding of £2.085 million.
	In addition to SUPERGEN, EPSRC has awarded £1 million to investigate the potential role of formic acid as a chemical method for the storage of hydrogen. £500,000 has been granted to three projects on fundamental science and engineering relevant to hydrogen technologies. EPSRC also contributes to projects through the DTI's Technology programme.
	The Government have also provided funding of over £450,000 for the trial of three hydrogen-powered fuel cell buses in London as part of the EU CUTE (Clean Urban Transport in Europe) project. £6.5 million of funding has been provided for the fuel cell and low carbon vehicle technology centre of excellence (CENEX) based in Loughborough.

Regional Venture Funds

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the  (a) budget and  (b) expenditure was of regional venture funds in each regional development agency in each of the financial years since 2000-01.

Margaret Hodge: The Regional Development Agencies have a number of programmes aimed at improving the provision of venture capital to promote economic development within their regions. The following tables show the total budget and actual expenditure, for regional venture funds only, for each of the Regional Development Agencies funded from within their core funding from 2000-01 to the current financial year.
	
		
			  £ million 
			   2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04 
			  RDA  Budget  Actual spend  Budget  Actual spend  Budget  Actual spend  Budget  Actual spend 
			 Advantage West Midlands 0 0 0.2 0.2 2 2 4 4 
			 East of England Development Agency 0 0 0 0 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.1 
			 East Midlands Development Agency 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 
			 London Development Agency 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 North West Development Agency 0 0 0.3 0.3 1 1 3 3 
			 One North East 0.5 0.5 0 0 0 0 9 9 
			 South East England Development Agency 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 South West Development Agency 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Yorkshire Forward 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 5 
		
	
	
		
			  £ million 
			   2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			  RDA  Budget  Actual spend  Budget  Actual spend  Budget  Actual spend to date 
			 Advantage West Midlands 0 0.1 10 10 8 7 
			 East of England Development Agency 0.5 0.6 0.4 0.3 0 0 
			 East Midlands Development Agency 0 0 0 0 2 2 
			 London Development Agency 0 0 2 2 5 3 
			 North West Development Agency 4 4 3 3 2 1 
			 One North East 0 0 0 0 8 1 
			 South East England Development Agency 0.2 0.2 0.9 0.9 1 0.5 
			 South West Development Agency 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Yorkshire Forward 0 0 1 1 0.5 0.3 
		
	
	In addition, the DTI has also established funds in each of the regions under the Regional Venture Capital Fund programme. These funds address the equity gap. a national market failure in the provision of venture capital, through measures which include local management of investment,

Trade Union Strikes

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many working days were lost to trade union strikes in each of the last nine years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: It is not known how many working days have been lost due to trade union strikes in each of the last nine years. However, the following table gives the number of working days lost due to all labour disputes from 1997 to 2005. Labour disputes include official and unofficial strikes and cases of 'lock-outs', that is, where an employer prevents their employees from working by refusing entry to the place of work.
	
		
			   Working days lost (Thousand) 
			 1997 235 
			 1998 282 
			 1999 242 
			 2000 499 
			 2001 525 
			 2002 1323 
			 2003 499 
			 2004 905 
			 2005 157 
			  Source: Office for National Statistics, Labour Disputes Inquiry

Trade Union Strikes

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many working days were lost to trade union strikes in each of the last 12 months.

Jim Fitzpatrick: It is not known how many working days have been lost due to trade union strikes in each of the last 12 months. However, the following table gives the number of working days lost due to all labour disputes in each of the last 12 months. Labour disputes include official and unofficial strikes and cases of 'lock-outs', that is, where an employer prevents their employees from working by refusing entry to the place of work.
	
		
			   Working days lost (Thousand) 
			  2005  
			 December 15 
			   
			  2006  
			 January (1)77 
			 February (1)14 
			 March (1)482 
			 April (1)3 
			 May (1)83 
			 June (1)6 
			 July (1)11 
			 August (1)6 
			 September (1)23 
			 October (1)13 
			 November (1)24 
			   
			 Cumulative total 12 months to November 2006(2) (1)756 
			 (1) Provisional. (2) The latest 12-month cumulative total will not necessarily equal the sum of the 12 months as some disputes continue for over one month. These disputes appear in each month's data, but only once in the total.  Source: Office for National Statistics, Labour Disputes Inquiry.

Asylum Seekers

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers who have exhausted all appeals were registered with local authorities' support teams on 30 November 2006.

Liam Byrne: Information on the number of asylum seekers who have exhausted all appeals and registered with local authorities support teams is not collected by the Immigration and Nationality Department.

Asylum Seekers

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many children were detained in dawn raids on asylum seekers in each of the last two years;
	(2)  how many asylum seekers were detained in dawn raids before 8.00 am in each month of the last two years.

Liam Byrne: The Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) do not conduct 'raids' against asylum seekers. IND enforcement officers undertake operational visits to detain and remove persons who no longer have the right to remain in the United Kingdom (UK) and do so in line with operational policy and guidance.
	I am advised by the director general IND that internet records relating to the number of enforcement visits conducted are only readily available since 1 April 2005.
	Records indicate that 3,559(1) unsuccessful asylum seekers were arrested as a result of enforcement visits that commenced before 8.00 am 92 per cent. of these arrests took place between the hours of 6.00 and 8.00 am. A breakdown of the number of arrests per month is set out in annex A.
	Records indicate that since 1 April 2005 until 16 January 2007, 1,373(1) minors were detained as a result of enforcement visits that commenced before 8.00 am 93 per cent. of these arrests took place between 06.00 and 08.00. 523(1) minors were detained (between 1 April 2005-21 December 2005), 803(1 )minors were detained in 2006 and 47 minors have been detained up to 16 January 2007.
	The relatively high number of minors detained before 8.00 am reflects that if it is necessary for IND to enforce the removal of a family then in the interests of health and safety and to help minimise disruption, the visit will normally take place early in the morning when the family is most likely to be together. Visits will not normally take place before 6.30 am unless it is considered necessary. (The Family Removal Policy (EPU 2/06) is publicly available on the IND website.)
	(1) This is derived from provisional local management information which may be subject to change.
	
		
			  Annex A: Number of arrests per month 
			   Number of arrests 
			 April 2005 97 
			 May 2005 213 
			 June 2005 123 
			 July 2005 157 
			 August 2005 143 
			 September 2005 144 
			 October 2005 192 
			 November 2005 226 
			 December 2005 143 
			 January 2006 149 
			 February 2006 161 
			 March 2006 224 
			 April 2006 229 
			 May 2006 175 
			 June 2006 106 
			 July 2006 153 
			 August 2006 118 
			 September 2006 135 
			 October 2006 221 
			 November 2006 232 
			 December 2006 106 
			 Up to 16 January 2007 112 
			 Total 3,559

Correspondence

Clare Short: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Nationality will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Birmingham, Ladywood of 2 November 2006 on behalf of Maguy Kalanga (Home Office reference number K1105786, acknowledgement number B27287/6).

Liam Byrne: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 23 November 2006 but I understand that my right hon. Friend has not received this correspondence. The letter will be reissued.

Criminal Record Exchange

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish the correspondence between the Association of Chief Police Officers and his Department on the establishment, funding and operation of UK Central Authority for the Exchange of Criminal Records.

John Reid: The latest available information was set out in my statements to the House of Commons dated 10 January and 16 January, and in the Home Office press statement issued on 13 January.

Departmental Expenditure

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much programme expenditure sponsored by his Department was spent via each of the Government Offices for the Regions in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Liam Byrne: The Crime and Drugs Directorate of the Home Office has recorded the following programme expenditure across the Government Office Network and Wales, for the 2004-05 financial year.
	The hon. Member may wish to be aware that, for 2006-07 and beyond, the Building Safer Communities Fund, (included within the 2004-05 programme spend figures in table) will form part of the Safer and Stronger Communities Fund. This is a pooled budget with contributions from the Home Office and the Department for Communities and Local Government and is no longer be expended through the Government Office Network in England.
	
		
			  Analysis of 2004-05 programme spend for the Government Office Network (including Wales) 
			  Government office for  2004-05 programme expenditure £000 
			 Wales 6,423 
			 London 21,839 
			 North West 18,025 
			 North East 7,409 
			 West Midlands 12,961 
			 East Midland 11,104 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 13,068 
			 East 10,651 
			 South East 15,355 
			 South West 10,456 
			 Total 127,291

Dog Fighting

Peter Soulsby: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) arrests were made and  (b) convictions were obtained in (i) Leicester and (ii) Leicestershire for offences relating to organised dog fighting in each of the last five years.

Tony McNulty: The information on arrests is not available. Information on arrests held centrally by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform covers persons arrested for recorded crime (notifiable offences), by age group, gender, ethnicity and main offence group only within the 43 police force areas in England and Wales.
	Data held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform court proceedings database for the number of defendants convicted of cruelty to animals within the Leicestershire Police force area, 2001-05 can be found in the attached table. Information held centrally does not enable offences relating to dog fighting to be separately identified from other offences involving cruelty to animals.
	
		
			  The number of defendants convicted of cruelty to animals under the Protection of Animals Act 1911 in Leicestershire Police force area and Leicester local justice area, 2001-2005( 1,2,3) 
			  Force/Area  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 Leicester local justice area 8 16 13 7 10 
			 Other local Justice Areas within  
			 Leicestershire police force area 5 2 10 7 4 
			 Total (Leicestershire police force area) 13 18 23 14 14 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis.  (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  (3) It is not possible to separately identify those offences which relate to dog fighting.   Source:  RDS Office for Criminal Justice Reform

Domestic Violence

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many incidents of domestic violence were recorded in  (a) England and Wales,  (b) Avon and Somerset and  (c) Taunton in each of the last five years.

Tony McNulty: The British Crime Survey (BCS) routinely provides information on the number of incidents of domestic violence in England and Wales, but this is not broken down by region or police force area.
	The 2005-06 British Crime Survey estimated that there were in total 357,000 incidents of domestic violence in England and Wales. The number of incidents of domestic violence as measured by the BCS has decreased by 43 per cent. from 2001-02 to 2005-06 BCS interviews.
	
		
			  Number of BCS incidents of domestic violence, 2001-02 to 2005-06 
			  England and Wales 
			   Number 
			 2001-02 626,000 
			 2002-03 506,000 
			 2003-04 447,000 
			 2004-05 401,000 
			 2005-06 357,000 
			  Source: 2001-02, 2002-03, 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06 British Crime Surveys

Foreign National Prisoners

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign national prisoners there are in England and Wales, broken down by country and by security category of each prison.

Liam Byrne: Information on the numbers of foreign national prisoners held in prison establishments in England and Wales, broken by  (a) European Union and  (b) other countries, and security category of prison establishment, can be found in the table.
	The data, which are obtained from the prison IT system, are not shown separately by nationality within individual prison establishment because the numbers are small and the accuracy at this level of detail cannot be guaranteed.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system, and although shown to the last individual the figures may not be accurate to that level.
	
		
			  Foreign national prison population by EU/non-EU and prison, 31 October 2006 
			  Prison main function  All  EU countries  Non-EU countries 
			 All 11,083 2,332 8,750 
			 Category B 1,078 224 854 
			 Category C 3,235 670 2,566 
			 High security 292 61 230 
			 Female closed 211 52 160 
			 Female local 381 82 299 
			 Female open 15 5 10 
			 Male closed young offender 615 96 519 
			 Male juvenile 117 15 102 
			 Male local 4,225 1,018 3,207 
			 Male open 127 48 79 
			 Semi open 788 62 726

Milton Keynes Basic Command Unit

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the percentage change in numbers of crimes recorded in Milton Keynes Basic Command Unit was in each year since 1997, broken down by category of crime.

Tony McNulty: Recorded crime by police basic command unit was collected centrally for the first time for the period beginning April 1999. For the year 1999-2000 data related to six selected offence groups only. Information for those selected offence groups are given in the table.
	
		
			  Recorded crime Milton Keynes Basic Command Unit 
			   1999-2000  2000-01  Percentage change 1999-2000 to 2000-01  2001-02  Percentage change 2000-01 to 2001-02 
			 Violence against the person 1,790 2,060 15 2,387 16 
			 Sexual offences 158 159 1 168 6 
			 Robbery 170 199 17 286 44 
			 Burglary in a dwelling 1,809 1,202 -34 1,222 2 
			 Theft from a vehicle 4,161 2,394 -42 2,960 24 
			 Theft or unauthorised taking of motor vehicle 2,184 1,528 -30 1,411 -8 
		
	
	
		
			   2002-03( 1)  2003-04( 1)  Percentage change 2002-03 to 2003-04  2004-05( 1)  Percentage change 2003-04 to 2004-05  2005-06( 1)  Percentage change 2004-05 to 2005-06 
			 Violence against the person 3,257 3,512 8 4,881 39 5,373 10 
			 Sexual offences 227 241 6 364 51 305 -16 
			 Robbery 213 282 32 258 -9 290 12 
			 Burglary in a dwelling 1,315 1,171 -11 965 -18 990 3 
			 Theft from a vehicle 2,533 2,382 -6 2,555 7 2,334 -9 
			 Theft or unauthorised taking of motor vehicle 1,137 1,107 -3 1,020 -8 846 -17 
			 (1) Data not comparable with earlier years following the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standards (NCRS) in April 2002.

Prisons

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners in England and Wales have absconded from custody in each of the last 10 years; and how many have not been caught.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The following table sets out how many prisoners have absconded from open prisons and escorts in England and Wales in each of the last 10 years.
	Accurate figures for recaptured prisoners are currently available only at a disproportionate cost. However, validation of management information has shown that around three quarters of all absconders are returned to prison within 12 months of absconding.
	
		
			  Absconds from open prisons and escorts in England and Wales in each of the last 10 years 
			   Number 
			 1996-97 1,115 
			 1997-98 1,056 
			 1998-99 969 
			 1999-2000 907 
			 2000-01 787 
			 2001-02 782 
			 2002-03 950 
			 2003-04 1,310 
			 2004-05 877 
			 2005-06 709

Public Sector Pensions

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cash equivalent transfer value is of the public sector pensions of the 10 highest paid members of staff in his Department and its executive agencies; and if he will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: The Home Office calculates Cash Equivalent Transfer Values (CETV) for board level staff on an annual basis. The results for the core Department and Executive Agencies are published in the appropriate Annual Reports. When the exercise was completed for the financial year 2005-06, the top earners were employed primarily by the Home Office and Prison Service. Their annual reports can be found on official departmental websites using the following links. Details of CETV figures for staff in Criminal Records Bureau and Identity and Passport Service can also be found online using the following links. Each annual report includes further information on the principles of CETV and the basis for their calculation.
	Home Office Resource Accounts 2005-06 (pages 48 to 50 refer):
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/resource-accounts_0506?view=Binary
	HMPS Annual Report and Accounts 2005-06 (pages 51 to 53 refer):
	http://www.noms.homeoffice.gov.uk/news-publications-events/publications/strategy/HMPS_Annualreport_2006/hmps_audited_financial_accounts?view=Binary
	Criminal Records Bureau Annual Report and Accounts 2005-06 (pages 24 to 26 refer):
	http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/hc0506/hc15/1527/1527.pdf
	United Kingdom Passport Service Annual Report and Accounts 2005-06 (pages 46 to 51 refer):
	http://www.passport.gov.uk/downloads/HC1544_UKPS.pdf

Street Robberies

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many street robberies were committed in Lancashire in the last 12 months; and how many were committed on 11 to 16 year olds.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 24 January 2007
	The recorded crime statistics, collected centrally, relate to numbers of offences. The series does not contain information on victims or offenders.
	Muggings are classified as robbery of personal property.
	The available information is given in the following table:
	
		
			  Offences of robbery of personal property in Lancashire police force area, 2005-06 
			  Basic command unit  Robbery of personal property 
			 Lancashire Central 204 
			 Lancashire Eastern 183 
			 Lancashire Northern 81 
			 Lancashire Southern 88 
			 Lancashire Western 171 
			 Pennine 177 
			 Total 904